Tax is the price we pay to live in a civilised society. It is what funds our health system, our education system and our public transport infrastructure. Tony Abbott has just asked the head of the Business Council of Australia to advise him on how much we should spend on those things.
Not surprisingly, the peak body for corporate Australia thinks we should spend less on the things that make Australia one of the best places in the world to live.
Of course, they aren’t silly enough to come right out and say their shareholders would prefer us to have poorer quality services so they can pay less tax. Rather, they simply play to Australian insecurities by telling us our tax system makes us ”uncompetitive”.
Related documents
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
Imagine if a business or federal department acted like this. Here’s why unis get away it
The leaders of Australian universities are enjoying the best of both worlds when it comes to the way they are regulated, but students are getting the worst.
How many countries have a AAA credit rating? > Check the facts
Who: “Australia is one of only eight countries in the world that has a AAA credit rating from all of the three international credit rating agencies.” Penny Wong. The claim: Australia is one of only eight countries with a AAA credit rating. The facts: There are eleven countries in the world that have a AAA
PM delays gas export tax | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Ebony Bennett Every week Australia delays introducing a 25% gas export tax is costing us $350 million. It’s a lot of lost revenue to ignore when your government has announced it will cut 160,000 people from the NDIS ahead of the federal budget. Yet, when the Prime Minister visited Perth this week, he seemed to kick the can down the road

