Three days ago, Joe Hockey made some rather nasty threats about further cuts.
“Labor should now support their own budget measure, and if they do not, they must immediately outline how they intend to fund their own budget black hole while they are opposing $40bn in budget savings,” Hockey said.
Well Joe….here are some I prepared earlier:
Cap and freeze defence spending at $20 billion a year. If a real threat emerges we can increase this. Saving $50 billion.
Cancel the order for the 58 extra jet fighters and get by with the 14 we have already ordered. Saving of $24 billion.
Cancel the changes to the Paid parental leave Scheme. Saving $22 billion.
Cancel Direct Action and keep the carbon pricing scheme. Saving of $10.6 billion.
Scrap the fuel tax credit to mining companies. Saving $11 billion.
Scrap the fuel excise indexation. Loss $3.4 billion. Net saving $7.6 billion.
Keep the mining tax. Saving $5.3 billion.
Find a better solution for asylum seekers that does not involve our Navy except to rescue people in distress, does not involve offshore processing, and most definitely does not involve disposable life-rafts costing millions. One that actually helps people. If you let them work while their application was being processed we might actually get some taxes from them rather than incarcerating them or giving them below poverty handouts. Saving…..hard to tell but it would be several billion.
Scrap the 1.5% decrease in company tax until the country can afford it. Also scrap the 1.5% levy for the PPL.
Keep the requirement for people claiming car business usage to maintain a log book for 3 months once every 5 years to justify their claim. Saving $1.8 billion.
Make the 2% increase in taxation on income over $180,000 permanent. How much this will make is dependent on if we tighten up on tax avoidance, otherwise the revenue will be nothing and for those as creative as Rupert and Google, we could end up owing them money.
Negative gearing should only apply to new building with certain greenfield developments slated as owner-occupied only.
Introduce a Financial Transactions Tax on various categories of financial transactions including: stocks, bonds and currency. If implemented on a global basis, its projected revenue could be as much as US$400 billion a year, depending on the size of the levy imposed, the size of the reduction in trading (if any), and the number of implementing countries/jurisdictions. In the US alone it has been estimated that annually, between US$177 and $353 billion could be raised. A flat rate of 0.05% has been proposed on all financial market transactions, many experts actually advise vary rates (of between 0.01 and 0.5%) depending on the transaction (stocks, bonds, currency, commodities, swaps, derivatives, etc). The UK stock exchange, one of the largest in the world, already has a 0.5% tax on share transactions.
Forget buying Tony a fleet of new planes to carry around business people and journalists. Saving over $600 million.
Keep the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Saving $400 million.
Tighten up the tax concession for superannuation. There are huge savings to be made there. At least reinstate the tax targeting earnings on superannuation pensions above $100,000. Saving $313 million.
Cut the exploration subsidies to mining companies. Saving $100 million.
MPs should fly by commercial flights rather than private jets. Flights to football games, the races, weddings, book signing tours, charity events, fun runs, should be paid for by the MP rather than being seen as an entitlement. Accommodation for these events will also not be provided as an entitlement. Don’t know how much it will save but Tony Abbott as Opposition Leader claimed over $1 million a year in entitlements. Use telephones and teleconferencing more.
Legalise voluntary euthanasia. This not only gives terminally ill people a choice which may give them peace of mind, it would also save an enormous amount of money which is spent in the last month or two of life.
So stop the threats Joe. There are far better ways than increasing inequity. Entrenched poverty is not a legacy many would aim to leave.
