#TEAMAUSTRALIA Weekly Challenge #1
G'day mates! It's time for #teamaustralia's weekly challenge. I'll be hosting this challenge myself and everyone is welcome to participate. I will simply ask a question in each challenge and all you have to do is answer the question in the comment section below. I will then pick and announce the winner in the following challenge. EASY PEASY!!!
Question of the Week
This week's question is about taxation. As you know, the financial year in Australia is about to finish and it's time for Aussies to pay taxes. What do you think about taxation in general? And what tips do you have about taxation, especially taxation in Australia? Please let us all know in a nice comment below! Cheers :]
Important Note
This is a trial run and I may or may not continue doing this depending on how it goes the first time. If you like the idea and want to see me do this every week, please consider supporting the challenge by participating in it. If it goes well, then I will not only continue doing this but will also consider increasing the prize pool and perhaps even the number of winners.
Terms and conditions of the Challenge
You don't have to be an Aussie or in Australia to take up the challenge. You can be anybody, anywhere in the world. Evreryone is welcome! However, you do have to upvote this post and resteem it, otherwise you won't enter the draw. The winner will be manually picked up by myself.
1... 2... 3... GO!!!
Taxation is a kind of theft obviously no matter how it's spent. However, I don't have much problem with taxation as much as I have with how it's spent. I think most people would be happy to voluntarily chip in, in order to make a better society.
My tip for taxation is this: Do everything you can to minimize your taxes. This can be from working less, and enjoying life more... to donating money to charities with a tax-free status. Scripture says whoever refreshes others, will be refreshed!
Great post by the way. Upped and resteemed! :)
I think the tax system should be in a block chain open ledger type of format, where everyone could somehow see, not necessarily what everyone else paid, but mainly where the tax money goes and what it is used to pay for. I think there should be a little more transparency on the spending of the communities money. It would probably even lower taxes in the long run by reducing (or eliminating) waste, fraud, mismanagement etc.
Nowadays when you get your return the ATO sends along a shitty little graphic stating very broadly where most of your income tax goes. And its over 30% to welfare from memory
What do you think about taxation in general? I want to pay a lot of taxes, the more taxes I pay, the better I am doing.
And what tips do you have about taxation, especially taxation in Australia? Go to your local library, read every book on taxes and super annuation and business operation, go the the ATO website, study it. You will save atleast 1 months salary per year if you have understood the system.
Taxation is theft.
Governments and countries are imaginary.
#makeaustraliaacontinentagain
for those on PAYG taxation the options are limited to using a tax agent to maximise your return. The best way to deal with taxation in Australia is to become self employed and thereby many of life's expenses become tax deductable. Use of your car, phone and dwelling can be partly claimed as deductions, further you can claim expenses for bad investments and all the materials used in the work you do. The slave society is based on our fear of failure and i recommend the best way to increase freedom and wealth is through self employment.
Fully agree, though that is the last thing the gov wants, which has been proven by all the expenses and regulations put on a small bus owner. They want worker bees.
thanks for connecting with a comment- i am now following you
I really like your reply.
i am a philosopher and buddhist type person
Tax is great but how it's spent is the issue.
Excellent msg768. Upvoted and resteemed.
My answer - 'I wouldn't mind paying tax if the government would only be more responsible in its spending.'
SirKnight.
Taxation is required for the government to operate but I think Australian tax rate is over the limit, if I am not wrong, is it 50c in a dollar? That's because the social benefits are too high, reduce the benefits and the tax can follow suit.
No it's not 50c in a dollar. It starts with 0c in a dollar and goes up to 45c in a dollar. Depends on how much you earn. If you earn less than 21K per year, you won't have to pay any taxes!
Thanks for the clarification. However, for the highest tax bracket, 45c is still too high.
Oh Yeah absolutely! :]
ooops I forgot to add.
Im sick of seeing my taxes go to ridiculous government schemes like forced immunisation and measuring the weight of children at schools to continue the invasion of privacy of parents based on the "nanny government knows best" principle. Its un-Australian and undermines the parents authority over their children. If a kid is obese its obvious and the money should be targeted at the real problem. eg. Corporate influence over eating habits and the cost of readily available fresh healthy food.
voted resteemed .
Cool competition : o)
Cringe!! Someone had to say it. Un-Australian. What the **** does it mean anyway? Just sayin. :-)
Well I couldn't say the context in which you have come across it in the past, as clearly it wasn't a positive experience for you.
However in this context ...invasion of privacy and undermining the family structure,flies directly in the face of our once so cherished Australian values. Being un-Australian is adopting the values of a foreign country, external political movement or even worse a corporation, to benefit a few unsavory individuals rather than the population of our great country. Being un-Australian is conforming to global agendas that inhibit and/or destroy the ability of Australians to develop skills that will strengthen the core paradigm of the Australian community at large. Using our taxes to advance this systematic undermining is very, at minimum, Un-Australian.
Even though some of our politicians have hijacked the term to manipulate the Australian public, it is upon "us" to discern the difference between the context in which I use it, and how they use it.
The reason I say this is that I don't believe it to be unique to Australians. A large majority of humanity I believe share the same Australian values.
Our government doesn't represent humanity it's meant to represent us.
The members of the Australian government are pretty well all in it for themselves. Yes, some enter politics with grand ideals, but not too long after they give their maiden speak they are "told" how the game is played. If they want to survive in politics they either tow the party line or find themselves on the outer. These aren't my words, I'm basically paraphrasing Don Chipp from his book "Keep the Bastards Honest". Yes, they are supposed to represent the people, but in reality the people are last on the list as far as priorities go.
As to the term Un-Australian, when it is generally used, it suggests that Australians have unique values that the rest of humanity do not have. What I'm suggesting is that the values Australians have are really no different from the rest of humanity. So when I hear un-Australian they may as well be saying un-Fijian, un-New Zealand, un-French, etc. For most people around the world want exactly the same thing. To be left in peace, to have food and shelter for their family, to be able to explore their passions unhindered by government interference, to name but a few.
Well said you're quite correct, people really do just want the same things in life thats for sure. Don Chipp from his book "Keep the Bastards Honest".lol great Australian to say the least.
Taxation is theft. Avoid and minimise by having a company or being self employed.
Australia pays over 1 billion a month in interest on the money this gov has wasted and owes to the banks.
The tax we pay is wasted and we would spend it better ourselves to improve the economy without gov constant wastage.
To me its probably something along the lines of a necesarry evil. Without it there'd be no public infrastructue, schools would be severly hampered without the funds injected from taxation and who knows whatever else.
But, i do take exception to the way our tax dollar is wasted in this country. All the govts, be they local council all the way to Canberra are guilty of pissing it away on shoddy projects or worse still, the pollies themselves.
i am not convinced in the taxies over all .
and i see that it is evil thing.
I'll give a perspective as a brazilian.
I don't know about Australia, but in Brazil we don't pay much taxes (actually if there's something we love is paying taxes) as we only pay 45% on average. Yes, you read well: FORTY FIVE.
If you have time, google translate this: http://especiais.g1.globo.com/economia/2015/quanto-pagamos-de-impostos/
Some examples:
If I try to import something from US, I would pay 60% of the product price plus other taxes on the product.
So I only have one tip on taxes: if you can, don't pay them.
Sorry about my shitty english
Hahaha! Your English is fine man! :]
It is OK to tax alcohol, I love drinking beer and spirits, if it weren't taxed so high I would probably be dead by now, and the whole area around the graveyard contaminated.
I hate financial years. They confuse me endlessly. I have a friend who is an accountant that does my taxes for me even though mine are apparently really simple to do because I'm dyscalculiac and am guaranteed to break even the simplest thing.
Taxes in general I don't think I mind the idea behind it (because privatising everything seems like it will lead to hell and not even paved in good intentions) but the method seems somewhat flawed. "Normal" people can't really "get ahead" (ie no real change in income) because every time they move up an income bracket they're suddenly taxed even more (because theoretically they can afford it because they're getting paid more) so end up with the same take home pay as they had before they moved up an income bracket but if they were previously in a low enough one that required Centrelink support they've now lost that Centrelink support so are worse off o_O
Meanwhile on the other side of town anyone rich enough to hire entire accounting firms are able to basically write off everything and essentially not pay any tax at all, or so rumour and hearsay has it.
And definitely do not tax businesses (or impose environmental regulations on them) because...economy.
I don't know if it's just the cutoffs that are potentially problematic or whether things would be better or worse if it was flat tax (have heard various arguments for and against that and only barely understand any of them).
Now my head hurts. Why did I answer this again? XD Was this even the kind of answer you wanted? Sorry! Now I shall crawl back into my slugskin and hide until food or realising I need to do more work drags me out (probably with slugskin in tow as it's cold in my house today).
A necessary part of life but not at these levels. 10% flat tax would be great but without tax returns so that those big companies end up paying their dues. Warren Buffet paid less tax then his secretary that sounds like a joke but its true and this guys worth about 70 billion
It will be my first experience in this year. I don't know much abut tax in Oz but wasted money from it annoy me regardless of place on the world. If they would spend it good - I'm alright with that, but by raising salary for themselves doesn't help us at all...
If your taxation system is still the same as back in 2003, I think it is one of the highest, probably because you have the social support system running, and free education.
For Malaysia, there is no income taxation for basic income group (they are already poor enough to live in a inflation country, especially the urban city of Kuala Lumpur), and we have a different income taxation levels. The more you earn, the more you are taxed.
Unfortunately recently in Malaysia, the patrol prices are no longer 100% subsidized, and unlike the Down Under (which is a daily change of prices, I think? Is it still that way?) we have a weekly reset of prices depending on the world market rate. Even from there the government will have a way to tax the public; moreover with the Goods and Service Tax (GST), and Customer Service Tax, some restaurants will tax comsumers for (price + 10% service tax) + 6% GST. Which can sum up to at least 16 - 18% extra of every goods purchase / every food consumed at restaurants.
And, Malaysia does not have full social support, but we have Tax exemption, which if those who truly follow and keep their receipts (properly), some are able to have a tiny bit tax of returns.
If I am not mistaken back in 2003 when I was studying in Australia, there were a lot of news to remind senior citizens to fill up their tax returns properly otherwise they are over taxed.
This is a nice topic to discuss. upvote you.
Not an ausie here, just following!
Upvoted
All good mate :]
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Taxation is needed for large infrastructure projects that many require including bridges and roads; for services that we all need: sewer, water, etc.; for common security and defence (not offence); for education of our youth and for helping our most unfortunate including the young, the old and ones who have met misfortunate, both from nature from their fellow man.
In Switzerland the most tax you pay is 16% regardless of what you earn and yes they have a welfare safety net. They have the right to arm and defend themselves and they have compulsory military service. They also have public transport and other government programs and services. Our tax is collateral for socialist loans. They love spending other people's money. We could learn a lot as a country.
Oh wow. I didn't know that. Let's move to Switzerland!!! :]
I wish, takes 13 years. They don't just let anyone in
Damn!
How about the people getting the ability to say where their money is spent. Surely it is now possible with present technology to have a greater say with less politicians being required.
The governments get plenty of money via the GST, and income taxes should be removed as they have no place in a fair exchange of energy that takes place when a service is provided or product created.
How about the we go back to where the treasury creates the money for infrastructure developments and maintains the amount in circulation. This is what the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution referred to. There was never any mention of a Reserve Banking system that would spread around the world enslaving all the people.
People should look to be self-employed, or better still look to volunteer for private foundations that are a humanitarian, philanthropic, community-service, not-for-profit, non-government, self-assessing organisation.
How about we go back to anarchy and get rid of big governments and let small communities govern themselves! I think the main problem is having big governments and wanting to make decisions for the whole world! :]
Hey, you'll have no argument from me on that score. :-)