Some of the wealthiest Australians pay negative tax and still get to call themselves self-funded
It’s hard to believe that anyone who receives larges cheques from the government can call themselves a “self-funded” retiree, but hey, this is modern Australia and powerful groups get to call themselves whatever they want. Sure, the full age pension is only $23,823.80 per year for a single person and, sure, some wealthy retirees get cheques for “spare” dividend imputation credits worth far more than that – but if those cashed-up voters want to call themselves “self-funded”, Scott Morrison isn’t going to burst their (taxpayer funded) bubble.
The term “self-funded” retiree has become as ingrained, and meaningless, as the term “dole bludger”. Just how it came to be that all old rich people “worked hard and paid their taxes”, while all unemployed people are lazy and in need of tough love, has been lost in the mists of focus groups past. But the cynicism in the way we talk about those with the most and those with the least speaks volumes about modern Australia. The land of the “fair go” is long gone.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2tsTjvB
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