Reality check needed
I read Shana Morgans article ‘Hands go up for a pay rise’, (The Border Mail, May 20), about the duplicity of the councillors in Wodonga but it seems to me that they are all tarred with the same brush.
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Maybe they begin with the proper motives but it takes great strength of character to retain their ethical sense of right and wrong and entitlement.
There are derogatory tinged words used by Cr Danny Lowe about business owners whom he seems to think can just take time away from their business because they own them. I think he needs a reality check on that point. The other group he seems to have disregard for is retirees.
I do hope the time is coming when all political persons and CEOs etc pull their heads out of their own importance and realise who they represent and why they are there.
Vikki Bye, Yarrawonga
Fairness, not slogans
I am appalled by the situation of tax avoidance that has arisen because successive governments have created too many loopholes in our tax legislation.
In 2014-15 there were 48 people earning over $1 million who paid zero tax and I assume zero Medicare levy. The combined income was $118 million and 19 in the group claimed an average of $1.1 million in deductions for tax advice and management.
It does get worse.
In the same year there were 473,000 people who paid no tax. There may be some in this group who would have earned less than the tax-free threshold, being casual workers in low-paid employment. However, the group managed to claim $328 million in total deductions for managing their tax affairs. I am assuming again there would have been no Medicare levy paid.
Then we hear that in 2014-15 it is estimated that employers failed to pay or underpaid $5.6 billion in super guarantee contributions to around 208 million employees.
In future years this will impact on retirement incomes for individuals via their superannuation, as well as the aged pension.
Just add the above to the non-payment of corporate tax by multi -nationals, the failure of the petroleum resource rent tax to provide any creditable income from our offshore gas resources and you wonder who Australian governments are looking after.
The government likes to talk about “mutual obligation” in relation to welfare recipients, however, I believe it should be paying more attention to the mutual obligation it owes to all its citizens.
That is to ensure all who earn an income in Australia, be they individuals or corporations, pay their fair share of tax. They use the benefits available in this country to earn a good income, so they should be required to support the maintenance of those benefits.
It is time the government took fairness and mutual obligation seriously and not just as slogans for ideological purposes.
Terry Smith, Wodonga
Pain free is a myth
The Victorian Labor Party has betrayed itself having comedian Andrew Denton speak at their weekend state conference on such a grave issue as legalising assisted suicide.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Jill Hennessy's responsibility is to protect human life, not see it snuffed out.
British legislators recognised this when they voted a resounding 330 to 118 against assisted suicide two years ago.
Several MPs who indicated their support for the legislation changed their minds after hearing the reasoned and informative speeches of their fellow MPs. Amongst them was Labor MP Robert Fello who addressed the misunderstanding that assisted suicide involves no pain or discomfort.
“Where thiopental … followed by pancuronium is used, most terrifyingly of all, the person at this point is completely paralysed so cannot communicate if they are still awake or in distress. They then suffocate to death. A dignified death?” he asked.