“The worst kept secret in Canberra is the insatiable appetite of politicians and bureaucrats for regulating and controlling every aspect of lives due to a pathological belief that all problems can be solved through legislation”.

That’s no secret. Every man and his dog knows that. He and his dog also know what an ABN is. And, if more people are forced into the black market as claimed (lower prices) bad luck for the government, which is not all that interested in new business, preferring mass immigration to boost the old ones run by their gouging mates.

This writer has a personal axe to grind, looking to set up as a “contractual tutor” - something Australia would be gagging for I’m sure! And, he doesn’t like the rules. He is a student himself, giving no clue as to whether or not he is even a resident with a right to moan about Australian laws on anything.

He claims: “The more vexatious components of these reforms are those designed to limit access to an ABN, with such prescriptive approaches reflecting a complete lack of understanding around their use”.

Is there proof that government “reforms are … designed to limit access to an ABN”; or is it just his imagination and a wild guess because he is personally frustrated by reforms. It could well be that the government has been alerted to another fraud perpetrated by the growing number of shady characters showing up here. We need to hear the real story from Minister O’Dwyer.

Whether or not these “reforms are … designed to limit access to an ABN” it's a huge step in the wrong direction. We should be able to walk into any Centrelink and get an ABN or do one of many related tasks - up to and including starting a company.

Scams in foreign student education 'businesses' are well known. Perhaps it is this area that government is concerned about. No other business was mentioned by the writer.

Meanwhile the banks get away with Billions, some not very legally.

What's this hamfisted government got to do with red tape and the black economy? Not a blessed thing but just as useful as tits on a bull when it comes to the black economy.

We will always have a black economy and quite massive tax evasion by those who can because our tax laws were designed for just such a purpose, without being to clear about their actual intentions.

And designed to "screw joe average while those who rip often entirely unearned profit from the system pay little more than token money.

And so it will continue as the honest taxpayer not only makes good the avoided tax but the army of bureaucrats unnecessarily and impotently policing our tax compliance laws!

Only a cashless economy will stop tax fraud! Along with a tax system that eliminates avoidance or any incentive to avoid, giving just paying your full and legal share could not only be the least costly option!

But just aiding and abetting avoidance by not registering a sale could impact on both buyer and seller with extreme prejudice?

Not worth doing five years hard time for being caught either the buyer or seller of an untaxed good or service for the sake of a few lousy dollars!

We need real rather than the Clayton's tax reform along with mounting complexity, we've had to date, and that rotten scrambled egg tossed and replaced by one of two stand-alone, unavoidable options.

A !5% flat tax every boy and his dog pays or an expenditure tax of around 5% collected as money exists accounts in a cashless economy!

Time to do real tax reform rather than effing it up the fundamental and just making a bad situation horribly worse.

So brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. your government never ever listens to those who employ them. Just screws them until they holler mummy!
Alan B.

Yes, governments, Labor, Liberal or greens , just don't get it.

I would love to employ more staff, but the cost of government levies, fees, taxes etc is ridiculous. Our local council charges me 3 times more the council rates compared to a house owner because they think small businesses are rolling in it.(I have a house converted to office space)

I pay as a small business, higher land tax, council rates, emergency services levy, workcover (for myself as well even though owners cant claim), ASIC fees, GST collection, wage collection, licence fees. The list goes on and on.

I have no problems paying tax on earnings, but if I did not have to pay close to $100000 a year in fees/levies, I could employ another 1 or 2 people. Which would help the economy far better than taxing small businesses.

I employ 2 people just to get the red tape done, I would rather these people serve customers and generate sales.

No I am not whingeing, why not tax religions instead of small business

What would real tax reform look like?

Well for starters a massively downsized ATO!

And we can't have that and the five-plus billions we could save by just chucking the massive money churn we call a FAIR AND EQUITABLE TAX SYSTEM? Now can we!?

In favour of something the current avoiders, not only can't avoid, but will find, but only if sanity prevails, that paying a modest fair share actually costs less in real terms than the money wasted on much more expensive avoidance/money churn!

It will also look like silent as the grave and empty tax practise offices the length and breadth of the land? And the best reason those practices know for keeping the current convoluted complexity. And their opposite number tax warriors with their red tape and bigger government, in the fray!

Well, it's the traditional liberal way, doncha know and therefore cannot, will not (never ever) be properly reformed. Just "reformed" so the average joe pays a larger and larger share!?

That's how one does "never ever" tax reform!? And then labels the asinine absurdity, 87% of the polled survey didn't want, as genuine tax reform!

Maybe for the CEO's with their averaged 15% salary hikes while the ordinary Australian treads economic water at around 2.5% per.

Because the aforementioned suggestions, 5% expenditure or a 15% flat tax, would seem like sanity had prevailed and the inmates had been returned to their dormitory?

And their keepers were back in charge of the asylum, we call principled government, along with fair and equitable treatment, in this wide brown land!
Alan B.

>This is not what we should expect from a "Liberal" government.

Naivety like this is possibly why they are still in Government.

We'd love to be freed from being unpaid tax collectors for the insatiable state.

And Liberal governments are the worst for expanding the state and imposing it on everyone. In fact the howard government was the worst of the worst. Damn they didn't just create more paperwork. They forced people to enter into contracts, buy certain products, join associations, impose state control over private property and even took private property outright and sold it back with licences.
Labor governments blow a lot of money on stupid ideas and fiddle with a lot of frivolous nonsense but Liberal governments of late can't seem to resist going full jackboot.
The worst thing about their bad ideas is they truly believe they're good ideas.

It's all our own fault of course. We've all stood back silently while successive parliments have voted themselves and senior public servants more money and perks. Now the motivation to stand for a seat has changed and it's attracting the wrong types. They're there for title and financial reward. Not to maintain freedom and secure property rights so the individual can confidently pursue his goals and maintaining basic essential services.

To the people drawn to parlimentary and public service today "government" is everything. It's their sugar daddy and they want more sugar. Anything else is inconsequential.
Regulation and red tape get the sugar. It's an addiction.

jamo, you sound like youv'e had the same 'bad' experiences as myself and most other people with a clue as to what's going on.
I would go one step further and suggest that there is no longer a 'choice' of parties.
For years I have felt that the political parties have slowly morphed into one disgusting and greedy group of scumbags in a very smelly cesspool of excrement.
And all that comes from such a place is disease and infections.
This is what we have had to endure now for many years.
I have always felt that these people believe themselves to be entitled to be in govt.
It is disgraceful that people who have NO experience in running anything, suddenly decide they should runa large company like a country.
I agree with your assertion that it is our fault.
I will remove myself from that comment and suggest that the people are too incompetent to make such a technical and intellectually demanding decision such as voting.
These form the majority and are best classified as 'SHEEPLE'.
We have too many immature, un-informed, mis-giuded, naive and gullible, people in this country.
They have enjoyed a lifestyle second to none.
They have made demands of the govt, who have acquiesced to the whims of the people so as to keep on good terms thereby allowing them to get the keys to the 'piggy bank', and the rest is history.
I have enough trouble understanding how anyone can vote for a party that believes a business must pay more to workers at the expense of the business.
But even more bizarre is that anyone would vote for a group of people that have absolutely no relevant knowledge or platform to be called a political party.
I speak of course of the greens.
It goes to the core of the problem with the Australian people.
Because of their shortcomings, mainly ignorance, it follows that they will fill the void in defiance, with arrogance.
Unfortunately, and the fact that they have gone 'bad', the Libs are the only ones with the most business experience.