In his 2005 tax policy paper, Malcolm Turnbull described negative gearing and the CGT discount as a “sheltering tax haven” that is “skewing national investment away from wealth-creating pursuits, towards housing”, and has caused a “property bubble”. Turnbull also acknowledged that “Australia’s rules on negative gearing are very generous compared to many other countries” and that “the normal deductibility principles do not apply to negatively geared real estate such that the taxpayer is not obliged to demonstrate that the negatively geared property will generate positive cash flow at some point in the distant future”.
In 2014, Turnbull said “Looking at Australia’s tax regime you would say that it is too tough on people earning income… but is incredibly concessional to older people who have made their money.”
Joe Hockey, in his valedictory speech in October 2015, agreed:
“… tax concessions on superannuation should be carefully pared back… negative gearing should be skewed towards new housing so that there is an incentive to add to the housing stock rather than an incentive to speculate on existing property.”
When it comes to electric cars, the Treasurer and the Energy Minister were both real fans…until they weren’t.
In October last year, Angus Taylor said in a media release that “Electric vehicles have the potential to lower transport costs, enhance fuel security, and increasingly create more sustainable cities with less pollution and better health outcomes for our communities.”
Josh Frydenberg penned a whole article on the advantages of EVs.
“Better coordination of existing and future activities around research and development, charging infrastructure planning, vehicle fleet targets and financial incentives, will bode well for the industry in the exciting decade ahead.
A global revolution in electric vehicles is under way and with the right preparation, planning and policies, Australian consumers are set to be the big beneficiaries.”
Then we have the National Energy Guarantee debacle.
In August last year, Frydenberg spruiked the benefits of the NEG in a media release.
“The Guarantee is designed by the experts, backed by industry, business and consumer groups and supported by independent modelling which shows the average household will be $550 a year better off under the National Energy Guarantee and existing policies underway.
The National Energy Guarantee is in the national interest because it will deliver the investment certainty the sector needs, while lowering power bills, enhancing Australia’s economic competitiveness and strengthening the reliability of our energy system.”
When it comes to stagnant wage growth, just last month, Scott Morrison said “I want Australians to earn more.”
Perhaps the final word should go to Malcolm Turnbull.
“The politicians and parties that can demonstrate they can be trusted, that they will not insult the people with weasel words and spin, that they will not promise more than they can deliver, that they will not dishonestly misrepresent either their own or their opponents’ policies – those politicians and parties will, I submit to you, deserve and receive electoral success.”
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You know, if we offered the same level of government subsidy (or co-investment) to electric car manufacturers as we do to private health insurance companies we would have them queuing up to establish manufacturing plants here.
We also have the world’s largest and most accessible reserves of Lithium so no reason why we shouldn’t be leading the world in battery technology and assembly rather than just exporting the ore.
What has been holding us back is this coalition ideology that hates renewable energy and anything that is remotely connected with future innovation.
Even today we have Matt Canavan in North Queensland ramping up the prospect of a new coal-fired power station when we should all be embracing the very exciting future offered by renewable energy which just happens to be where Australia is in the box seat.
These political dinosaurs are like King Canute, frantically attempting to hold back the tide of change. This is, of course, one of the hallmarks and also one of the regrettable downsides of conservatism.
Firstly, I pray daily that the forthcoming election will herald the end of the most corrupt, incompetent and intellectually feeble government I can recall in my lifetime. Their lack of policies, their flip-flopping on what few policies they have (most stolen from Labor) and their craven lies to inflate their egos and damage Bill Shorten are pointers to the true character of an inept government led by a failed corporate hack. But you only hear about how Bill Shorten can’t be trusted – you rarely read anything of just how incompetent Morrison was in business. He was a nitwit who believed he was and is a genius; he was atrocious at consulting with his boards, duplicitious and ill-considered with his decision-making and contemptuous of anyone who sought to challenge his actions. Seem familiar? His failings were evident all along and he is replicating them as PM.
But we need to be careful with EV’s – any government subsidy of private activity tends to push prices up. However, I am supportive of EV’s in general.
Just the same, I am sure that, for example, health insurance has forced up the price of health services and there are two key insurance methods in place. One is private, through the health funds and the second is puble – Medicare.
A nationalised health system is, in my view, a good thing, but as presently structured, Medicare is not meeting the health needs of many who are dependant upon the public health system, but it is definitely making many medical practitioners very wealthy. I know a number of couples where both spouses are medical practitioners and their incomes are, in my estimation, likely pushing $1.0 million per year and much of that income is funded from government revenues. This also happens with workstart and the now failed privatised-TAFE system – both are failures, and exploit the poor to enrich a powerful few.
In addition, to return to the EV issue, there are numerous steps that any government can take as part of the segue from our present obsession with bigger and more powerful gas-gazzling vehicles to EV’s. One is to start making people pay the full social and environmental cost of their vehicle choices (you could look at this as code for “pricing SUV’s and dual cabs off the roads”). At present, there are several tax concessions that actually encourage men in suits to buy dual cab vehicles as their “daily drive” – how does a society justify these quasi-trucks on urban roads in increasing numbers, especially considering as well that these vehicles are now imported and modelled on the US philosophy –
“make ’em bigger”?
MalcolmnTurnbull is an ALP secret weapon. He is vindictive and spiteful, characteristics I share with him. I’m an aware of my flaws and nd control them; Malcolm is about to unleash his. Scummo
Love everybodys comments! Terrence, great ideato stop subsidising private health insurance premiums and put the several billions towards getting EVs going. Id like the shopping basket version, but $50,000 is a tad too high at the moment.
Terence, you are a very naughty boy, having a sensible policy when all the LNP politicians around are contemplating their navels. Now go to the corner and dream up a better way to control political funding by natural persons and corporations to third party political agitators like the IPA. Perhaps you could start with public notification on an AEC public website within 48 hours receipt with the name of the individual and corporation.
There has been too much refusal by all politicians to demand that access to Australian natural resources requires second and tertiary processing and manufacturing being located in Australia. No processing or manufacturing, no access to natural resources. Simple!!
Trouble is that most voters have short memories and even shorter vision. It breaks my heart to see the contempt displayed by some towards the planet and its non- human inhabitants and I don’t see any more hope from labor (especially in Victoria) than LNP (in nsw). I’m too afraid to hope for a new pm, but as for saving the planet, I don’t think either party has a serious desire to take the tough decisions I think are necessary so my grandchildren can enjoy Australia’s ‘beauty, rich and rare’.
IFTL, you can’t take our Hilux away – we must have ‘a bit of grunt’ to tow the boat on the weekend and pull the ‘van out into the increasingly hot and dry Outback on our holidays. What an idiotic argument this is! Since this Coalition Non-Gummint killed Australia’s car manufacturing industry we are completely dependent upon the types of vehicles being made overseas – and they are increasingly going to be EVs as car makers ramp up the transition from ICVs. Internal combustion engines are inevitably going to be a thing of the past. What is equally ludicrous is, as IFTL points out, any sane Government should jump at the opportunity to encourage establishment of industries that will process our large lithium reserves into batteries (I believe there is one company setting up in WA, but we need to rapidly increase the scale to take advantage of the opportunity). And, as it appears Labor is keen on doing, Australia, with its abundant sunshine for large PV farms for electrolysis, has some wonderful opportunities to become a major supplier of hydrogen that will power the larger trucks that are being tested overseas at present, and to use the present huge investments and expertise in the gas industry to establish an export hydrogen industry. Get out of the bloody way, Scummo and your 19th century “mates”, and let Oz at least aspire to its potential.
Jaquix: There are two things you need to consider:
(1) Those of us who are frugal, never buy new vehicles. You lose money the moment you drive out of the dealership. There are second hand EV’s available and will be increasingly available as time goes on. The Nissan Leaf has been selling now (as an example) for several years now. Remember, that they have very few moving parts and the only thing you really need to worry about is the battery.
(2) Once you have the car, running costs are very low compared to a petrol (or diesel) car, both in terms of charging and in terms of servicing and maintenance. You can look up some figures on the web.
Was it Joe Hockey who said electric vehicles were unsightly as he drove towards Canberra or was that horse and cart vehicles. Jesus, that’s the problem with getting older, you tend to forget the erudite pronouncements of our senior politicians. What, he’s gone to America? I remember when he said when he met people they used to say , ” keep going Joe” but I didn’t realise they meant him to go that far.
Captain GiddyUp and his faithful sidekick Major Dysfunction, Utegate Mark 2 brought to you by the concrete-haired harpy, Tony Abbott generally … yet more insults to the intelligence of Australians from this mob of sociopaths, and no doubt more to come. Please let it end soon.
Shouty just cant help himself. Just as everyone is getting over the liberal lies and increadibly stupid extrapolations, we now have a new one. $387b in extra taxes.
Its as if chicken little has lost his head. If the lie doesnt get traction, lets make it bigger. How big a lie is this mob prepared to go to?
After a suggestion that the Liberals should run for re-election on their record was dismissed as being nonsensical, Morrison has decided that they stick to what they know and do well, that is tell lies !
And then we get to the main part of the reason for the screaming and yelling –
“The $387 billion includes $6.5 billion from the imposition of a higher income tax rate on workers earning more than $180,000 a year, adding 2 per cent to their marginal tax rate until 2023. It also includes $31.5 billion from the Labor changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, $56.8 billion from changes to dividend imputation, $27.2 billion from higher taxation on family trusts and $1.7 billion from caps on tax deductions.”
What a surprise. The poor 10% would gasp, have to pay more…horrors…
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scott-morrison-uses-fresh-treasury-costings-to-launch-387-billion-tax-assault-on-bill-shorten-20190410-p51cy7.html
And the Phoney…sorry Xenopho…gah Centre Alliance are proving they’re just as greedy as the rest of the 10% –
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-facing-6-billion-threat-from-key-senate-crossbenchers-20190410-p51cz1.html
Scummo, the “daggy dad”, who was worth $19.55 million in 2018 – https://www.dreshare.com/scott-morrison/.
He’s just your ordinary everyday Australian that happens to be in the 10% (more like 5%) club.