“Some think...that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits - but no”
— Pope Francis, with some divine family planning advice
Home | Taxing effort
THE GIST. Treasurer Joe Hockey thinks that (high income) families are paying half their income to the government in taxes, and that this supports various government policies which ease the 'cost of living'.
HEARD IT B4. Hockey made the same 'half their income' claim last year, and still seems to have his wires crossed. The top marginal rate (45%) kicks in on income earned above $180,000 per year. Which means that nobody pays half their income in tax. A spokesperson said he was "speaking in very broad terms."
GSTEASE. The 'cost of living' line has been a feature of another taxing argument - on whether or not to expand the GST. In December Hockey dismissed the idea because of "pressure on family budgets." But things got awkward earlier this month when Trade Minster Andrew Robb supported extending the GST to fresh food and education. Hockey got the last word on Monday, rejecting the whole discussion as a mere "summer debate."
WHITE FLAG. The government is planning on releasing a 'white paper' early this year, which is going to make recommendations on how to fix the tax system. And it's a system that needs some fixing - Australia gives up more tax revenue through 'selective allowances' than other advanced countries, according to the IMF. Rio Tinto boss Phil Edmands put it more bluntly yesterday, calling the tax system a "slowly rotting platform."
THE GIST. Greece's left-wing opposition party Syriza has extended its lead in opinion polls, with elections coming up on Sunday. Syriza is promising to end 'austerity measures' in Greece, but more on that below.
ANCIENT HISTORY. The Greek economy is in bad shape. About a quarter of the country is unemployed - closer to 60% of young people - making the jobless rate the worst in 33 years. The government is also broke, and public health spending has been cut by 40%.
PAYBACK. Since the GFC, Greece has been on the receiving end of huge 'bailout' loans (mostly from Germany) to help it stay afloat, on the condition that the government cut public spending and raise taxes. People blame these austerity measures for crippling the economy. Syriza is promising to put an end to the massively unpopular arrangement, calling it "fiscal waterboarding", i.e. painful and ineffective.
GREXIT WOUNDS. Worse case scenario: Greece defaults on its loans and/or leaves the Eurozone, potentially triggering another financial crisis. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is talking up the dangers of Syriza and a Eurozone exit, but he's also got an election to win. On the other hand, the Germans say they would cope if Greece leaves them high and dry.
Intrastellar. American billionaire Elon Musk has announced a plan to launch a network of 4,000 satellites, which will orbit Earth and provide high speed internet access anywhere on the planet. That's only a means to an end, though - the revenue will be used to "generate revenue to pay for a city on Mars."
Birthday bill. The family of five-year-old Alex Nash, who failed to turn up to a friend's birthday party, has been invoiced by the host's parents for expenses incurred in putting on the bash. Ms Lawrence, who apparently thinks that good parties require a contractual relationship, said, "All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me."
Missing congeniality. The Lebanese Miss Universe contestant, Saly Greige, is facing intense criticism at home for posing in a selfie with the Israeli contestant, Doron Matalon. The two countries are technically at war, and some passionate Lebanese citizens have taken umbrage at Greige consorting with the enemy. Greige has pleaded innocence, and accused Matalon of 'photo-bombing' her. Miss Israel denied any wrongdoing, and said that any photo-bombing of civilians is regrettable collateral damage. Her story was supported by Miss USA.
Internecine adj. destructive to both sides in a conflict: Australian music fans are engaged in an internecine debate about including a Taylor Swift song in Triple J's Hottest 100 - a fight in which there are only losers.
