milesg.My post relating some of the mistakes made by previous...

milesg.

My post relating some of the mistakes made by previous Labour governments was simply in response to your post which seemed to indicate that ONLY Liberal Governments make these mistakes. However, there is no doubt that the present Liberal Government has made the taxation more complex in the time they have been in office. But this has been the practice of BOTH major political parties. They have both promoted a simple tax system, whilst introducing more complex legislation (that's politics isnt' it?). Unfortunately I don't see this changing, no matter which party wins the next election.

I disagree with you that the so called Simplified Taxation System was introduced by the Liberal Government, it was definitely a Labour Government 'initiative'.

I was taken aback recently when my (retired) brother who was visting me from Canada, expressed surprise regarding the means testing and complicated rules re asset testing etc that are applied before a person becomes entitled to a pension in Australia, which evidently do NOT apply in Canada. It would certainly make life much more simple for retireees, but, of course, we would not need all those financial planners.

I have a vague recollection that this system applied to Australia sometime in the past, based on the premise that some or all of these welfare benefits paid to the so called 'rich' would be recouped through the taxation system, as all these benefits were taxable. I understand this is the premise on which the current taxation system in Canada is based. It certainly appeals to me.