re: why has australia become a bendover society
This is a total indictment of the homo, feminist, do-gooder, leeding-heart, commie, multicultaral lovers that are ruining Australia.
We must stop these country wreckers by starting with a two stage recovery plan.
1) Reintroduce capital punishment and allow Darwinism to weed out the scum.
2) Getting involved in a war or conflict as we are hopelessly out of practice in this regard. A bonus will be that we can put those referred to above on the frontline to pay for their sins
1.4 million pay top rate of tax By Matthew Horan 05jan03
ALMOST one in six Australians is now paying income tax at the top marginal rate, it has been revealed.
The number of people paying 47¢ in the dollar has risen by 300,000 since the new tax system was introduced along with the GST in 2000. Taxpayers need only earn $12,167 more than the average full-time salary to fall into the top marginal bracket, which begins at a salary of $60,000.
Figures compiled by tax expert Access Economics show 1.42 million Australians – 15.5 per cent of all taxpayers – are paying the top rate. When the new tax system was introduced, 1.15 million people were paying the top rate.
Financial experts call the phenomenon "fiscal drag" – when people are brought into a higher tax bracket because its starting point has not been kept in line with earnings.
Access Economics director Chris Richardson said the extra taxpayers would give the Federal Government a cash surplus of $5.4 billion by the next election, due by the end of 2004.
"The Government will be able to use this money to offer further tax breaks," he said.
He warned that even more people would be paying the top tax rate in the next few years.
"Our modelling shows that 1.63 million people will be in the top bracket in two years – almost one-in-five taxpayers."
In Queensland, it will include police sergeants, who used to earn a maximum of $52,301 but will earn up to $67,305 under a recent pay deal. It may also affect some Queensland nurses and teachers who are in wage discussions.
Labor's federal shadow treasurer Bob McMullan said the Government was taking taxes by stealth.
"It's just another illustration that Peter Costello is the highest-taxing Treasurer in Australian history," he said.
"Australian families don't need these statistics to tell them Peter Costello is taking a bigger share of their income in tax than any other Treasurer has ever taken."
A spokesman for Mr Costello said the Government had originally wanted the top bracket to begin at $75,000 but had been defeated by Labor and the Democrats in the Senate.
