5 responses to “About”

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  W.G.Carrington May 19th, 2010 at 22:57

  The only major change that is required is a Tranaction Tax on all Financial Institutions, Banks and individual discretionay and luxury expenditure buy and larger purchases including property.

  I am against death duties, and capital gain taxes which are a disinheratance tax against individuals who provide saveings or invest in business for the benifit of the community providing employment,econmic growth,shelter etc.

  Other forms of tax like gst,fuel, etc. could probably not be required if we had a tranaction tax of 1%. which would be the fairest method and most economical collection for Govt.

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  Jay June 1st, 2010 at 06:19

  Death duties and other forms of taxation on inheritance may be useful in serving to reduce arbitrary inequalities. Children don’t choose whether they’re born into rich or poor families, so is it fair that the children of wealthy families should inherit substantially more than those of poor families?

  Taxes on fuel also help to reduce consumption of a finite and precious resource that we should be transitioning away from, so are good for moving us closer to sustainable living.

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  T.W. October 18th, 2010 at 05:30

  I agree with “2. Tax financial speculation.” but not with “1. Remove GST from food.”. Should have started two separate petitions. I am sure there will be others who agrees with one but not the other. In its current form, I am unable to take part in the petition.

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  al May 20th, 2011 at 17:47

  I can’t agree with Jay…..my god the ideals of communism still exist for some it seems.

  If children are born equal, then surely you earn by your skills in the world. So long as your taxes are paid, then you should be able to buy want you want or gift to others. Simple as that. If a family wishes me to have their cat, watch or $20,000 when they die, then what business is that of the government or tax system. And anyway, they can simply transfer assets before death via a trust and get around death taxes!

  Al.

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  Victor May 20th, 2011 at 18:37

  Hi Al, I think Jay’s point is that children are not born into equal circumstances.

  Large inequalities such as exist in our society mean that children of course do not “earn by their skills in the world.”

  A child brought up in deprived circumstances is not going to develop to their full potential and obviously does not have the same opportunities as a child from a wealthy family with access to better conditions of life.

  This is bad for two reasons.

  One, it is not just. Any democratic society must at least offer opportunities to all its young people simply to ensure fairness. Of course, you may not agree with fairness or believe that fairness equates with communism, which seems odd, but that is your prerogative. To me, it is worth knowing that any child can attend the accident department at a public hospital, regardless of their parents situation.

  The second point is that it is simply more efficient.
  Inequality especially with regards to children produces a malfunctioning society with great loss of potential, reduced opportunity for productive activity, and greater costs on welfare, crime and other patch up efforts. So, simply from a self interested point of view, even the wealthy should understand that a stable and efficient society underpins their opportunity to enjoy their wealth.

  The idea that wealth is somehow produced in isolation by an individual with no relationship to anything else seems naive.

  After all, without an educated and healthy population, infrastructure, and the stability of a society without extremes of wealth and poverty, then even the most dedicated entrepreneur will be unable to achieve their potential. These things are obviously best provided through collective provision. Roads for example are quite socialist, but generally everyone seems to be generally happy with their current operation.

  Taxation, simply, is the price of civilization. This means redistribution. This is not a bad thing, as capitalism inherently tends towards the concentration of wealth, leading to inherited privilege and a class system.

  My example is Sweden and Somalia. Sweden has high taxes. Somalia has low taxes. Which one would you prefer to live in?