But hasbeen, what makes you think this tax would be revenue neutral. It's a tax on money and, just because say one billion dollars gets spent every day (I don't have clue just how much) doesn't mean there is one billion in money, simply because the same amount of money. Gets spent time and time again each and every day and, much of it is not real, it's electronic money passing from one account to another. It has been suggested that a very small TT could fund all our needs and replace every other tax we have and, the more one earns/spends, the more one pays. What can be fairer than that!

What is absent from this discussion is recognition of how the money and banking system works and whether that is the best for the future. Regardless, technology and globalisation are going to see increased numbers of citizens on the periphery for periods of their life and in some cases for many years. An easy example could be the new 'old', which can be anyone over 45, who can expect scores of life where they are unemployable in the present economy, but in a barter system could earn for all of their years.

The dissatisfying elements in the discussion are the acceptance of increasing taxes, apparent lack of interest in curbing State interference in private lives and acceptance that what government presently spends your taxes on is justified, which it is often not.

If a government really wants to save money and even a cursory look at (say) Q&A 'debates' should convince any independent observer that a lot of taxpayers' $$ has been expended for decades for no effect (eg on indigenous housing), there needs to be some statesmen tener cojones in the federal Parliament.

I am astounded by people who believe that the bucket of taxpayers' money is inexhaustible and there are always more taxes to be collected, saying it is a 'Lucky Country' and a 'Wealthy Country'. The previous Labor+Greens federal government cast about everywhere for more taxes, including CGT on the home, which is not now proof from attack, and death duties (a favourite of the Greens).

I despair at the mindless naivety of this thread. The proposition is that the government would not need to cut spending or increase taxes if only we could tax the black market.

Well Duh! It is not as though every tax office in the world is not trying to do the same, and tax offices have gone as far as to prosecute restaurants for under reporting income based on their purchases of coffee (in proportion to meals served). For the maths tutor, the plumber etc paying marginal tax of 45%, some 20% cash discounts to private householders is extremely lucrative and untraceable.

The reality is that Labor's budget black hole is not going to be filled by these thought bubbles, and the alternatives are limited to cutting spending and/or raising taxes, or passing Labor's debt sentence onto our children.

One other thing I might pick up while in the mood to waste a few minutes, is the belief some have that citizens always seek to avoid taxes and must be constantly monitored, investigated and punished to force them to pay.

There is more than enough practical research to prove the exact opposite: in fact people are more than willing to pay taxes providing the taxes are fair and the money taken from them by the State is applied to good use.

The attitude of both sides of government to the ATO is that it is a revenue collector, a 'profit centre', and the ATO for its part was very quick to take advantage of knowledge that it could justify large staffing (and executive salaries), and unfair adversarial treatment of ordinary citizens, if it could show that the money coming in exceeded ATO costs in collecting it.

Government has forgotten that it is there to serve the public, not the other way around and yes, government is obliged to show that it is using those taxpayers' dollars for real priorities and getting value for money in the process. That should rule buying votes (and the imported population to vote 'reliably') out of the question, shouldn't it?

Rehctub & others, I agree that we desperately need to cut spending. That Labor black hole is going to swallow us sooner or later if not addressed. The big problem is how.

The Government tried to do just a little with this very gentle budget, & the left & the lefty media are still screaming horror horror, & calling for Hockey & Abbotts heads. Even if Tony had the guts & the will to cut spending as much as he ought, it would never get through the senate or the government survive.

That is why I suggest any tax reform has to be revenue neutral, but would probably have some hidden grab at our wallets who ever introduced it.

Maybe if we could reclock our country, as one can with a computer, & set us back to about 2005 we could get back on the rails. I think those last 6 years of Rudd/Gillard/Rudd has set us beyond redemption. Too many are too used to the handouts for them to ever be removed completely. It looks as if much reduction is too hard too..

For how we will manage, we can only look to Greece to see our future some time soon.

The mining tax may be gone, but for the Greens it has had it's desired effect, the mining companies, now scared, have run for the hills. They will not be back anytime soon.

Yes we will still have the export dollars for the production for years, thank god, but those high paying mine, port & rail building jobs are rapidly winding back.

How families, used to $140,000 a year FIFO jobs, will go on $55,000 normal town pay rates will get on is yet to be seen. Not too well is my guess.

I was just reading a discussion with many expat Poms suggesting it would be hard to live in Perth on less than $150,000 a year. I wonder how the check out chicks get by?

Re barter, there is or was a barter system operating in the Blue Mountains.
Another syatem is the gifting societies and also the Transition Town
such as Totness and several hundred others.
Some of these have their own currencies which they buy with GBP at a
bank in Totness and only spend in the town. Keeps the profits in the district.

The idea of a transaction tax seems to have merit as eventually the
money has to go in or out of a bank. However the transactions in between would not be taxed.
I am sure the tax dept has a computer program somewhere that looks at
the plumbers bank accounts and compares what he buys at Bunnings
against what he reports as a GST statement.