Part Of The Policy Furniture

Typical. I join a political party, and two seconds later I think it's my god-given right to go shoving my oar into the party's policy platform - insofar as it is possible to shove an oar into a platform. Regardless, I like the general thrust of their Reform 30/30 taxation policy, but I think there's still room for improvement. So I e-mailed the policy's creator - estimable Aussie author, blogger and general spruiker for libertarianism, John Humphreys - with the following screed:

Hi John,

About the taxation policy the LDP's formulated...

Looks good, however I'm thinking that those on very high incomes will find themselves far worse off under the LDP's proposed scheme. I believe that if someone is earning millions a year, taxing 30% of their income is an unreasonable impost - especially considering that the companies they've more than likely created/own are also paying 30% of their profits to the ATO. These very high income people are society's most valuable members. They're far better off under the current taxation system (where they can minimise their tax to a much more reasonable level) than your proposed one, and I submit that such a reality constitutes a considerable flaw in the design of your policy.

My solution:

How about including a cap on payable tax? To continue with the 30/30 theme, why not restrict the amount of tax an individual pays to a maximum of $300 000 per annum? And limit the amount a company can pay to no more than $300 000 000? This addendum to the LDP's taxation policy would see Australia become an extremely attractive relocation destination for high net worth individuals and companies, enriching the country economically and socially. It would probably be revenue-neutral within a few years, too - what with the mass immigration of rich, taxpaying plutocrats and large companies to our shores that such a reform would provoke.

Just a thought...

Yours,
James Waterton

What do you lot think?