Two opposite class perspectives emerge in this thread. To the class of leaners, dependant on reducing Australian wages in order to profit leaners (aka investors), Australian wages are too high and need to be reduced towards the level of Asian cheap labour (also ripped off by the leaners).

Class struggle over decades has brought Australian award levels to what they are today and naturally the leaners will want them curbed (ABCC anyone?). Forcing Australian workers to compete with Asian workers in a race to the bottom is a benefit, to the leaners, of unimpeded trade with debased regimes whose draconic (slave) labour laws cow their wealth creators out of struggle over their wages.

Terms like "racist" are deployed (like the hoary old "left"/"right" labels) on behalf of the acquisitions class, who create none of the wealth they acquire, to muddy the waters when this managed homeland producer vs foreign producer contest is challenged.

Perhaps the best destination for the funds collected in Make-up tariffs would be labour organisations in the debased countries!

Meanwhile the Americans have blasted a great big hole in the elitist structures impoverishing the creators of wealth. What a surprise, steering an election into actually meaning something.

No, EJ, it's not a class struggle. I'm not suggesting reducing Australian wages. You seem to have failed to realise that wages are high in Australia because we do high value work.

You're suggesting effectively subsidising low value work here by making Australians pay more for stuff in order to pay other Australians Australian wages to make things that could be made in Asia for a much lower cost.

Another way of looking at it is you want to simulate the costs of a lower Australian dollar for imports, while denying us the benefits of a lower Aussie dollar for exports.

I want us to race to the top, not the bottom. I want us to concentrate on doing more high value work rather than distorting the economy to encourage us to do more low value work.

And I also recognise that in low wage countries, wages are improving. More trade with these countries puts upward pressure on wages there.

Aidan,

Consider this, A rich man buys shares all his life, then on retirement sells his shares, and lives off capital. If he sells $100k shares p.a. with a capital gain of say $50 000, he presently pays $15k p.a. in tax, under your scheme, he would pay far less after "expenses