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2024 will go down as the biggest earning years for the three tiers of government in Australia, ironically right at a time people can least afford it.
Circle 20th of April on the calendar.
That’s the day in the year when you stop earning to pay tax and start taking banking money for yourself.
The first 111 days are effectively hard labour - working to pay for the government.
The Centre for Independent Studies has just finished a taxation tally. They claim there’s now 125 different ways to pay tax in Australia - and concede there’s probably many they’ve missed.
Everyone ‘gets’ the notion of income tax and company tax on profits, but the rest … most of the time we pay without even knowing.
GST, council rates, fuel excise, duties, licences, beer and cigarette levies, fees, tariffs, tolls even fines – call them what you like – they’re all a form of tax.
The CIS reckons “statistically governments collect $29,700 in taxes from every adult and child”.
It’s a mind-blowing figure.
Take a not uncommon family of five – mum, dad, and three kids.
That calculation puts the average all-government tax take from that household at almost $150,000.
The Centre’s analysis says, “total tax revenue is expected to amount to a near-record 30% of gross domestic product” this financial year.
That’s the highest tax take since the boom years of 2000-01.
The contrast between the ‘Millennium year’ and today couldn’t be greater.
Once again, at a time Australians can least afford it – governments find a way to make things tougher.
Let’s not mention Chris Bowen’s power prices!
There is never a real discussion about reducing the size and cost of government.
It’s always a game of shifting responsibilities.
One thing that never gets cut is size of the public service.
This year is another record number.
Just short of 2.5 million people were employed on the public payroll by the Commonwealth, States, and local governments last year.
Every tentacle keeps growing in size … and salary.
We paid almost $215 billion in wages in many cases for so-called services the public never really wanted.
When politicians talk of ‘growth’ – other than immigration numbers, the only real thing growing in the number of people on the public teat.
Hold your breath for this one:
Last year, roughly one in four people over the age of 16 were on some kind of welfare.
Yet another record.
Five million people shared in towards $230 billion of payments.
That figure has near-doubled in 20 years.
Government has never been bigger, more costly, and more out of touch.
Albanese’s growth industries are public servants and handouts.
About the only thing that hasn’t changed if who’s paying for it.
