| “Australians are taxed when they earn, spend, invest and own—yet Australia is supposedly tax-free.” |
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Australia: The Land Where Almost Everything Is Taxed
I honestly don’t understand why Australians are complaining about tax.
After all, the highest marginal income tax rate is only 45 per cent—plus the 2 per cent Medicare levy. Then, every time you buy most goods or services, you pay GST.
If your investments finally make money, you may face capital gains tax. Buy a property and you pay stamp duty; keep it, and you may also pay land tax and council rates—because apparently owning property has become a subscription service in Australia.
Buy a car and you pay motor vehicle duty. Fill it with fuel and you pay fuel excise. Dare to purchase a vehicle above the luxury car tax threshold, and there is another tax waiting for you—with GST also applying to many of these costs.
Run a business and employ people? There is payroll tax. If an employer provides additional benefits, there may be fringe benefits tax. Take out insurance to protect yourself, your family or your property, and some states impose insurance duty.
And depending on where proposed changes affecting testamentary trusts ultimately lead, critics fear Australians could face what amounts to a new form of “death tax.”
So, let us recap: Australians pay tax when they earn money, spend money, invest money, buy assets, retain assets, drive a car and employ people. They may even pay tax while trying to insure and protect possessions already purchased with taxed income.
Apart from all of that, Australia is practically a tax-free country. |
