Latest news with #FederalTreasury
West Australian
6 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
AARON PATRICK: Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers needs to stop creating work for organised crime
Jim Chalmers today dismissed some common sense about the illegal tobacco trade from the NSW Premier, who blamed a crime wave on tax increases that have driven cigarettes to as much as $75 a packet. 'I'm not proposing to cut taxes on cigarettes to make them cheaper for people,' Mr Chalmers said. The Treasurer should read the news. On Tuesday, the NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police and Border Force arrested what they said was a methamphetamine and cocaine importation gang in Sydney. Among the stash seized were 20 million cigarettes, allegedly smuggled into Australia to avoid $42 in taxes on each packet of 30. The arrests, and others before it, show the unintended consequence of a decades-long campaign to reduce cancer rates by driving up the cost of smoking to prohibitive levels. Cigarettes are so expensive, organised crime has taken up a business opportunity to undercut the legal market. The same day as the arrests, NSW Premier Chris Minns pointed out that his Government is going to have to spend $300 million extra fighting a problem caused by Federal tax policy. This means 'allocating police officers that are currently working on domestic violence cases and youth crime cases,' he said. Even though smoking rates are plummeting, there seems to be a tobacconist in every shopping district. How do they survive when legal cigarette sales are falling? And why are they frequently the target of crime? After a shop in Preston, Melbourne, was firebombed last November, residents reported seeing suspicious people in and nearby the shop at irregular hours. 'Went into grab some Powerades on a hot day in Feb and old mate behind the counter had a unit of a heavily tatted 'friend' sitting near the door watching everyone coming through,' one person wrote on social media. Six years ago, the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, introduced what was called the 'Black Economy Package — combating illicit tobacco'. Assurances from the Federal Treasury the plan would defeat criminals were wrong. The opposite happened. Excise from tobacco sales peaked the following year, and fell every year since. This year, the tax will raise $9.7 billion, down 40 per cent from 2019-20, when the excise was half as much as today. Tax receipts will fall 27 per cent next financial year, the Budget forecasts. The figures show the tax is so high it is counterproductive. Instead of making glib comments about lowering the cost of cigarettes, Mr Chalmers would deserve more respect if he acknowledged the problem and worked with the states on a solution. Before many more tobacconists go up in smoke.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on Trump's policies, Barnard College protests and the gang database
Flushing: To Voicer Dave Kalin: President Trump is 'effective' at what? Making sensible, civic-minded people lose their minds? At allowing predators like noted (alleged) ketamine enthusiast and richest man in the world Elon Musk into the proverbial henhouse to 'find' fraud and waste as head of DOGE? By which I mean admitting his 'team' into the data systems of the Federal Treasury, Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, etc. Doesn't Musk have hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts with the government? How is that not a conflict of interest? You approve of Musk and his merry band of teenaged incel tech nerds rooting through our personal information in those computer databases? Letting kids barely out of high school fire thousands of civil servants? Well, at least they're trying to rehire the people responsible for the security of the government's nuclear stockpile and such. Except Musk's team apparently deleted the contact information for these workers, too. Oopsie. By the way, White House claims of Musk finding fraud and waste are entirely without evidence, which doesn't bother the good folks at Fox News, where Trump's 'achievements' are being lauded by sycophants like Sean Hannity. Trump has been effective at collecting his tribute, though. It's like the reception of a Mafia wedding — all the supplicants lining up to give their envelopes of cash. Except these are all billionaires seeking the president's favor. As one does in a democracy. It's only been a couple of weeks; reality will be setting in soon enough. Clyde Kerlew Middle Village: Regarding the job justifications imposed by Musk, when corporate America runs (make that races) to our government with their tin cups looking for a handout or subsidy, will their upper management be asked to justify their jobs? John Puglisi Massapequa, L.I.: On the news was Trump's first cabinet meeting with all his picks sitting around a table, along with Trump's idol, the muskrat. Musk was neither elected nor confirmed by the Senate, but there he was squirming his way into the meeting. Musk may be the world's richest man, but he should have spent a couple o' bucks on an etiquette class. Normally when a gentleman walks into a public building, he removes his hat — but not the muskrat, standing there wearing a black MAGA hat. Maybe he is bald like Trump, who could teach him to grow his hair and comb it over. They could look like twins. Ron Boehning Brooklyn: Voicer John Dent asked if being 'semi-fired' is like being 'semi-pregnant.' I'd say it's more like Trump being semi-president. Ilsa Ruthen Manhattan: Americans have always been generous when giving to charities. We all know these charities are meant to help people of lesser means and also to help the environment, education, cultural institutions and research, etc. It seems that politicians are cutting back on the role our government plays in this helping hand. For now, it is up to the individual taxpayer to fill the gap. To help them do this, I suggest we raise or eliminate the SALT deduction $10,000 limit. This will allow more taxpayers to itemize their deductions and encourage more gifts to charity. It would also be a good idea to extend the time limits for charitable deduction for 2024 into the early months of 2025 so that as we do our taxes, we can take advantage of the itemized deductions for charity for 2024. Let's make it easier to give more generously. Mary Smoke Kings Park, L.I.: So, the most powerful man in the world can fire thousands of hard-working Americans at will but can't bring down the price of ordinary eggs. D.T., take note: Once your MAGA supporters come to the realization that they were conned and lied to and the only person who you care about is yourself, as the rest of us already knew, it will not be pleasant. Looks like the chickens are coming home to roost. John Karahalis Astoria: Trump is being castigated for two supposedly outrageous proposals: developing Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East and charging $5 million for paths to U.S. citizenship for the wealthy. The usual suspects whining don't see these ideas for what they are: thinking outside the box. Gaza is a bombed-out war zone. Conventional ideas have clearly never worked, but it's also prime real estate, so why not? For decades, hordes of low-skilled illegal aliens have been streaming over the border costing taxpayers billions, so why not the inverse? A multimillion-dollar cover charge for people who will bring the rest of their fortunes into our economy, and many will start businesses employing Americans. Win-win. Bradley Morris Philadelphia: Voicer Josh Greenberger's accusing the left of 'gross dishonesty' while lauding Trump as 'one of the most honest and dignified human beings to occupy the White House' is the most hysterically funny right-wing projection I have read in a long time. Josh asks 'what kind of degenerates did the convicting' of convicted felon Trump? I'll tell you, Josh. Trump was indicted by a grand jury of 23 average Americans and unanimously convicted by another 12 members of a trial jury composed of average Americans. So stop trying to promote the ludicrous idea that the American justice system of trial by a jury of peers is comparable to the Russian justice system of trial by one judge and juror, Vladimir Putin. As far as Trump's honesty and dignity go, the number of certifiable, documented lies told by Trump during his first administration exceeded 30,000, an average of 21 lies a day. Duane Doberman Brooklyn: Three cheers for Gov. Hochul for standing up to Trump and defending what is best for New York ('Hochul won't give in to fed push to kill tolls,' Feb. 27). Not only was the governor decisive in defending the program, but she showed a clear understanding of what ordinary New Yorkers struggle with when our transit system fails. May she be this courageous in Albany. There's an array of excellent bills that need her support, like the NY HEAT Act, that will build the clean energy infrastructure New York needs statewide. And there's the added bonus of showing Washington what good government can accomplish. Get it done for us, governor! Sara Gronim Margate, Fla.: Voicer Michele P. Brown ignores the fact that the Arabs (they didn't call themselves Palestinian until 1964) rejected an independent state in 1937, 1947, 1948, 1967, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2019 and 2020. The only obstruction to Palestinian self-determination for nearly a century is Arab rejectionism. Richard Sherman West Barnstable, Mass.: The brazen seizure of Barnard College's Milbank Hall by dozens of masked pro-Hamas agitators is a grotesque assault on civilized discourse and a chilling threat to Jewish students. These radicals, cloaking their thuggery in the garb of activism, have crossed a Rubicon, disrupting academia with drumbeats of hate and flyers glorifying violence against Israel. Their demands to reinstate expelled peers and dismantle disciplinary norms reveal a deeper rot: a rejection of accountability masquerading as moral superiority. This isn't protest, it's anarchy. A conservative lens sees through the veneer — where liberals might dither over 'free expression,' we recognize a clear line: When speech becomes a battering ram against reason and safety, it forfeits legitimacy. Israel, a democratic ally besieged by terror, deserves unwavering support, not campus vilification. Barnard must act decisively: Permanently expel and arrest every occupier. Anything less emboldens this mob, imperiling education and emboldening Jew-hatred. Ronald Beaty Hamden, Conn.: The street gang database is an essential intelligence tool used by police departments everywhere that street gangs are active ('Gang database battle,' Feb. 25). Information in the database aids in ongoing investigations. The public advocate and City Council are entirely wrong in their push to stop the NYPD from using and even having it exist. Their excuse to get rid of it defies rational explanation, except that they are pro-crime. Chris Lyons Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Truly saddened to hear about the passing of Gene Hackman, one of my all-time favorite actors — an absolute legend, a versatile entertainer. Hollywood has lost one of its greatest, but his performances will live on forever. Rest in peace, Gene. You'll be deeply missed. Paul Bacon
