The end of the financial year has just passed and teams of company accountants are arduously working away at cooking the books. They are looking for ways to cream off more of the wealth created by workers, on top of the handouts and subsidies big business already receives from government.
The bosses' peak body, the Business Council of Australia, is waging a campaign to ensure the success of Howard's tax "reform". It is funding a multi-million dollar media campaign to help sell Costello's lie that a GST will mean a fairer and simpler taxation system. The GST, Costello would have us believe, will cut tax for wage earners and level out the tax burden.
Not content with what they have already squeezed from workers, business chiefs want a better deal than that stitched up with the previous Labor government. A GST has always been one of the big jewels in the crown.
Through the '80s, the Hawke and Keating governments slashed the corporate tax rate from 49% to 33%, and the top marginal tax rate from 60% to 47%. Packer, Bond and Murdoch were mighty pleased with the efforts of their mates in the ALP. They're going for broke now with their mates in the Coalition.
The only ones who benefit from a GST are the wealthy. With the Coalition making the hard sell for the GST before the federal election, Green Left Weekly will be campaigning for a more equitable system and for genuine tax reform.
But a people-before-profits newspaper is hard to keep afloat at the best of times. One of the things that makes a big difference is financial assistance from subscribers and supporters. Over the years, donations to Green Left Weekly have steadily increased and kept the paper going. So, if you're one of the lucky ones expecting a tax return, spare a thought for Green Left Weekly when the cheque arrives. Green Left Weekly — It's your newspaper.