To make a comment or read the original article (and other comments) please click on the blog title.
- Ned S – 10th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
And truth be told it’s often/usually(?) all three – “stupid”, “self-serving” and “arrogant”. Geez … No wonder a man has become a conscientious objector when it comes to voting. My personal opinion is that the sooner we all stay home on polling day to tell the twaddle-hards what we really think of them, in overt defiance of their having conscripted our votes, the better!
Ned S – 10th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
I find it very, very difficult to respect anyone who actually wants to be a politician in a reasonably affluent democracy. They are either stupid and don’t realise what the job entails; Or self-serving and don’t care; Or arrogant and think they can improve things regardless! Hmmm … Don’t mind me; I’m just having one of my I hate politicians days.
Ralph – 10th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
Nice commentary, guys. Keeping the Henry tax review on the shelf is more than anyone expected, I think. If there was ever anything that tags Rudd as gutless, this is it. It really does show they are afraid of offending anyone.
My guess is that it’s not even that explosive. More that K Rudd doesn’t know how to respond in a way that doesn’t alienate at least one key voter bloc. He’s already on the nose due to a perception of lack of delivery. So he responds with a grand health proposal that has absolutely no chance of being implemented. That’s more evidence in the public’s eye of “all talk, no action”.
If K Rudd were to release the tax review, it’s inevitable we’d see no concrete tax reform come out of that – Kevvie has the brown underpants on. So yet another example of all talk, no action. The poor guy is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. Rather than release a report he can’t act on, he chooses not to release it at all and be seen as a non-actor. Not that I feel sorry for him, mind you.
Ned S – 10th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
Swan and Rudd between them presumably know way less about taxes than pretty much any CPA. So they’d be poking their necks out a lot to tell a bloke like Henry who presumably knows more about tax than just about anyone in Oz, that he is wrong. No, their input really just boils down to figuring out what is politically acceptable to implement when – Precisely “because Ken said they were a good idea”.
And at the moment, they don’t feel it is politically acceptable (for them), to even see the report discussed it seems?
As to Abbott, well dropping clangers like he is going to up taxes on big business by 1.7% out of the blue is rather strange behaviour – A measure of just how much he’d desperately like to be PM perhaps?
Greg Atkinson – 10th Mar
The ASX All Ordinaries Index, ETF GOLD, BHP and QBE.
Well I know my reading of the charts above is not popular with a lot of people but the markets have rallied since I wrote the post above and it looks like we might be in the middle of rally that will take the ASX 200/All Ords above 5000.
As for China, my hope is that as the Chinese economy slows (as it will) things will pick up in the U.S and Europe, thus the ying/yang of the global economy will be balanced.
I am not sure I agree with Marc Faber that China will have a “bad year”, I just guess it won’t be a great one like they have been having for the past decade. All economic booms come to an end, if you believe otherwise then you are setting yourself up for a nasty fall.
Greg Atkinson – 09th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
MHL I would say Rudd and Co have looked at the Henry report and realised it is simply too hot to handle in the public domain before the election. Then after the election I guess what you suggest will probably happen and suddenly there will be tax increases because Ken said they were a good idea.
I am not sure why Abbott is on about paternity leave, he should focus on giving people a choice between a big spending government that wants to run everything, and a smaller government that stays out of our way as much as possible.
Ned S – 09th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
As I said Senator, it’s more about the fact that he wants to up taxes to buy votes, than about what he wants to spend the taxes on per se. But Yes, I’ve got lots of reservations about governments fiddling to bring about societal change. And the example of them choosing who will and won’t be paid and how much to breed, is one that Australia has an extremely poor track record on – IMO.
Senator13 – 09th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
I would have to agree with you Ned. I am not a fan of the scheme or any paid maternity type schemes. It just encourages people to take on more then they can handle and compensates people for lack of forward planning. It also makes it harder for the organisation to do business.
I do not think that now is the time for any new expenses especially those that involve raising additional tax.
So I am far from being sold on the idea.
I am sure the tax review would have covered such matters – but it looks like we will never know.
But maybe this is the price to kick Rudd out and hopefully in the long term the good things that come of kicking out Rudd out weigh the bad?
Ned S – 08th Mar
The Japanese economy: trying to get a balanced view.
It’s nice to know that ciao enjoyed his stint in Okinawa. At least enough to be miffed about leaving I’d guess?
Ned S – 08th Mar
Is the golden era for the Australian stock market over?
Ken Henry will be very disappointed if he doesn’t get his “50 Golden Years” I suspect Greg? (I can only assume he is planning to live to 102 so he enjoys it all? )
As to the US, I must admit that a graph sometimes pops into my mind from early 2009 I’d guess, that indicated the bulk of Obama’s “real world stimulus”(?) was timed to peak around 2012 when he stood for re-election. So Dow 12,500 by then mightn’t be too silly?
Ned S – 08th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
Abbott has blotted his copybook straight off for mine – He wants to up taxes on big business and pay people to breed. Hey, I don’t care what he wants to use the money for; Or who he wants to take it off – The minute he says “increase tax”, that’s one strike. And he’s got lots of time yet to rack up two more and be “out”!
We’ll see. But another high taxing, high spending, vote grubbing politician doesn’t sound like what is required to me.
I think back to a supposedly funny yarn I heard once about a pretty unsophisticated old bloke in a third world democracy, who when asked how he intended to vote, replied along the lines:
“Well, the first bloke who came through said he’d give me 10 dollars to vote for him; And the second bloke said he could only manage $5; And the third bloke offered me $2. I figure I’ll vote for the third bloke because he is the most realistic and least corrupt.”
MH – 08th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
Is it possible that they could be holding onto the reform until after the election. Hoping that they get re-elected by all of the mindless voters who had their hand out repeatedly. Their campaign will probably focus on the handouts and hospitals. Then after election, we will get shafted with new taxes and ITS, and swallow it for another 3 years. Whatever is in the review will hurt SME’s. Time to start preparing for more financial stress. I hope Abbott is ready.
Greg Atkinson – 07th Mar
The Japanese economy: trying to get a balanced view.
ciao and your point is?
Greg Atkinson – 07th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
Senator when the review was first ordered by the Government Rudd & Swan were out selling it as a great moment in tax reform. Of course since the Henry review excluded the GST it was never going to lead to a system wide review of the taxation system, but at least a few good ideas were likely to come from it.
In any case, why would the people who ordered the report and made a such a big deal out of it now not want the public to see it? On what grounds is the report being suppressed? The answer is simply because the Government does not know how to handle the report now it has been delivered to them, and they certainly don’t want to face any tax related questions in an election year.
If they won’t even talk about tax reform how on earth will they ever actually deliver health reform?
Senator13 – 06th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
And here I thought that it would get buried in the Christmas news – I never thought it would never get released at all!
Is what is in the review really that bad??
I think your right Greg, tax by stealth might be their plan. They still have to pay for an NBN too…
Eden Samela – 05th Mar
Is the golden era for the Australian stock market over?
stranger stuff has happened
ciao – 05th Mar
The Japanese economy: trying to get a balanced view.
Okinawa Okinawa Okinawa
Do not make nice with China or Korea
You were our white guys in Asia only so long as Asia hated you
If Japanese salarymen were rumoured to also have made nice with Chinese prostitutes rather than behaved like pigs of old and new then the Americans might really go ballistic!
Greg Atkinson – 05th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
It is going to very interesting to see at what point the Henry Review will be dusted off. My guess is that it will be used as the mechanism to raise taxes by stealth in the name of “reform”.
The worrying thing is Rudd still seems to be hooked on spending and his health-care plan is likely to cost billions and undoubtedly millions of this will be wasted.
But even more scary is that the RBA and Treasury seems to have no problem with our spiraling nation debt of the governments spend-a-thon.
If the Chinese economy cools then we might just find that ourselves in a very nasty economic situation.
Greg Atkinson – 05th Mar
The Japanese economy: trying to get a balanced view.
Ah APEC, the problem with these types of gatherings is that they are so scripted and stage managed. I doubt anything exciting will happen and the press will just regurgitate the press releases as usual.
But I guess since it is in Japan I will see if I can get the inside scoop as they say 
Senator13 – 05th Mar
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
The stimulus chqs were just a short term popularity ploy – I doubt many people would even remember receiving them let alone what they did with them and the chances of receiving some more free cash is slim.
So Rudd really does not have much of a foundation to go off. People are sick of his grand plans and spin I think. They just want to see something get done.
I think Rudd is starting to panic and rightly so because he has done nothing.
I just can’t get over him sitting on the review after claiming how grand it was going to be.
