Monday, October 15, 2007
The election we had to have. Report part the 3rd.
Anything youse can do I can do just as badly.
A damaging goof by Kevin Rudd, given his growing image problem of being a man of spin, not substance:
Visiting Queanbeyan today, Mr Rudd was asked by a journalist to name the tax rates and where thresholds kick in.
Mr Rudd replied: “Well, as of July 1, if you went through the four thresholds, I think the high threshold kicks in I think at $175,000, then I think it cascades down the spectrum.’’
Mr Costello seized on the blunder, attacking Mr Rudd in parliament and pressing him to release Labor’s tax policy.
“He couldn’t name a single rate, he couldn’t name a single threshold, and the one threshold that he named of $175,000 … just doesn’t exist,’’ Mr Costello told parliament.This might be a small error of detail (of the kind John Howard would actually never make), but it suggests a genuine problem for Labor.
Astute observation courtesy of Bolta.
"WHO CAN YOU TRUST TO GET THE MOST BASIC OF FACTS RIGHT?
Mr Howard chose the first day of the campaign to unveil a surprise announcement of tax cuts worth $34 billion.
Last night on Channel Nine, there was another surprise, a slip-up from Mr Howard, when he was asked to name the official cash rate.
“It’s about 6.25,” he said, instead of 6.5 per cent.
In the same interview the Prime Minister also fluffed the figure for the average wage.
Again, let’s take a gecko at Bolta’s astute observation.
"This might be a small error of detail (of the kind John Howard would actually never make), but it suggests a genuine problem for ... "
"WHO CAN YOU TRUST TO GET THE MOST BASIC OF FACTS RIGHT?
Mike Willesee: “If I buy a birthday cake from a cake shop and GST is in place do I pay more or less for that birthday cake?”
John Hewson: ”...well, it will depend whether cakes today in that shop are subject to sales tax…or they’re not…firstly. And they may have a sales tax on them…Let’s assume that they don’t have a sales tax on them…then that birthday cake is going to be sales tax free. And of course it would be exempt…uh, the – then – of course – you wouldn’t pay…uh..it would be exempt…the – then…there would be no GST on it under our system. One with a sales tax on it today would attract a GST and…um…then the difference would be the difference between the two taxes whatever the…ahh…sales tax rate is on birthday cakes, how it’s decorated, because there will be sales tax perhaps on some of the decorations as well and of course the price….the price will reflect that accordingly.”
Willesee: “Just on the birthday cake, because I’m trying to pick up a simple example – you tell us in what you’ve published that the cost of cake goes down, the cost of confectionery goes up, there’s icing and maybe ice-cream, and then there is candles on top.”
Hewson: “Yes…yes…that’s the difficulty – that’s what I’m trying to address in the question. I need details on the cake to give an accurate answer. I mean if it’s just a cake from a cake shop – that’s not presently under sales tax – it will not attract the GST. If it is from a cake shop that falls under sales tax, with the candles, decorations as you say, then it will attract the – after scrapping the sales tax.”
Willesee: ”...okay…it’s just an example…If the answer to a birthday cake is so complex – you do have an overall problem with the GST, don’t you?”
Hewson: “Well, people don’t know how much tax they currently pay…”
Labels: Election 2007, The Rodent
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