After conducting the Tesla review, I started thinking. Why so many payments to the government for a purchase you make?
GST, the Luxury car tax, Stamp Duty, registration for purchasing a car.
GST, Fuel Excise, on petrol.
GST, Wine Equalisation Tax (yes, wine has its own tax).
GST, Federal excise and customs duty, State tobacco licence fees.
I could go on.
With the GST everywhere, it feels like governments are double- and sometimes triple-dipping. As well as income tax they have a huge amount to work with. Herein lies my rant.
The GST was, from my memory when it was being spun, supposed to replace all other taxes, streamlined and simple. Why then is this not enough? For what reason are there taxes on taxes for the consumer?
If it is to “get to surplus again” then stop rampant spending for stupid reasons, stop throwing money away to the UN, stop giving it away for no reason! Government funds need to be spent; we need police, medical, rescue, fire, roads, etc. However those guys holding the stop/slow signs playing Pokemon Go on their phones (I have seen this) being paid over $100 an hour (in the right circumstances) to hold a sign and use their mobile is just plain stupid. A street cone could do that job much more efficiently, and cheaper!
However, government spending isn’t the main rant today. It is a symptom of lobbying by those with loud voices and little brains wanting more than they deserve. Because of the pandering to the greedy, there is a need for more funds, so on go the taxes, and it is the secondary taxes that are raised – these unnoticed ones:
Petrol – 39.6 cents per litre as of 1st of August 2016 is what you pay in tax at the pump. Not including GST, of course. We could be paying 80c at the pump (metro Vic) currently if not for this.
Luxury cars – 33% of the remainder that goes above the LCT threshold (in the case of the Model S it was over $45,000 in tax!)
When the GST was proposed to be raised a few years back; in the RuGilludd era I believe, there was a huge outcry against it. Rightly so. The GST was proposed to be raised without any tax being removed. Now, had these other taxes been removed and the GST raised, then I would say that is fair; it would finally be the tax to replace all others.
However this won’t happen. In the end politicians don’t change, they just wear a different face and sing the same song.
Photo by Gene Hunt 
