Revenue is the fundamental basis of any economy. If you have no revenue source then you have no economy. A classic example is East Timor. We liberated them with military might so they could have a free economy based on the revenue flow from the oil and gas reserves in the Timor basin. The only problem we have is that East Timor is not getting the real benefits of a revenue source. The Australian Government has allowed the big multinationals to get control of the undersea resources.
East Timor is still a depressed disaster of an economy because it has no real revenue stream.
Back here in Australia we have a government scavenging for revenue. We even have state premiers stating that they intend to roll out more speed cameras to collect millions of extra dollars in fines for the state coffers.
I say to you the revenue is out there Mrs Government but you refuse to collect it.
Example #1. A take away shop that bakes its own bread, pies and mini meals in a high turn over are of indigenous and single occupancy dwellings collects upwards of $5000.00 per day,24/7, has no operating till and declares $1000.00 per day, if that.
That is $1,460.000 per year undeclared revenue ($146,000 unpaid GST)
Multiply that figure by a estimated 50,000 similar operations throughout Australia and you have $73,000,000,000 per year undeclared revenue ($73,000,000,00 unpaid GST)
Massive isn't it
Now using example #1; we take a conservative figure of say 20% of this amount being fact this then $14,600,000,000 multiplied by 250,000 (a very conservative figure) you then have an amount of $36,500,000,000,000.
Now just say only 20% of this figure is true then we a missing out on $7,050,000,000,000.
Staggering isn't it?
So what it means is that our government is deliberately bleeding the worker who really shouldn't have to pay any tax on up to $100,000 a year income.
End of unemployment, end of poverty, end of medical waiting lists, better roads, schools and aged care,
Utopia revisited.

chrisgaff1000,

Your ass must be sore with all those number you just pulled out.

If small business weren't able to avoid tax, they wouldn't bother. The single biggest motivation for anyone starting a business in this country is to avoid tax. If you take away the tax rort, nobody will bother and unemployment will skyrocket.

Why would they bother if you end up paying the same as your average PAYE tax payer? Small business is the largest employer apparently.

There needs to be a place for the embezzlers and tax avoiders of society so that the honest workers have a job. It's not pretty but it's reality.

Houellebecq,

I totally accept your premise in respect of running a small business. The incentive is the cash (or kind) but why have laws if they can be defeated for the sake of greed.
I doubt if small business would decline or unemployment would escalate that much. It would simple mean that there would be a more equitable playing field for all taxpayers rather than the privileged few.
By the way the examples I quoted do really exist.

chrisgaff1000 if our Govts were fair dinkum they would make the RBA do it's job and create some of the money to equal increases in our growth + inflation.Our taxes would be cut by 30 billion pa + interest.

You see the private banking system owns us and our Govts by creating from nothing all the money to equal our productivity + inflation.6% of $ 1.2 Trillion is $72 billion.There is your missing revenue.

What a cop out! A section of the community, ie small business, has to be free to break the law because they are an employer of people. Not to mention that small business is the biggest exploiter of workers, often under paying and flouting award conditions, always crying poor mouth.
Added to this is how small business often fail to comply with health and safety laws.
chrisgaff1000, Take your "take away shop" small business. Firstly avoiding tax, secondly underpaying its child workers and thirdly giving the rest of the community a dose of salmonella. Greasy Ronald should be behind bars, not behind his counter, or driving his merc around town with a boot full of cash!

I thought we had covered this on Arjay's thread, chrisgaff1000

(You know, you two should get together and combine your understanding of business and finance. True, it would fit comfortably on a Post-it note. And it would be entirely wrong. But at least you'd be in good company. Just a thought.)

>>Now just say only 20% of this figure is true then we a missing out on $7,050,000,000,000. Staggering isn't it?<<

What is staggering, is that you actually wrote this stuff.

It is clearly pointless trying to explain to you why that number is meaningless, and with it your entire argument, because you wouldn't understand a word of it.