ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A wavy-haired softcock from our town’s leafiest enclave has told The Advocate today that an inheritance tax wouldn’t do much towards increasing the Treasury’s bottom line moving forward.
The country is facing significant challenges according to the sixth Intergenerational Report (IGR), which was released yesterday by Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. It flagged an increase in personal income tax as being one of the most important changes we need to make as a country to ensure that our aging population is taken care of properly.
That particular aspect of the IGR has attracted criticism from many in the community who feel that wealthier, older Australians should be made to pay for their own care, instead of taxing the green Jesus out of young workers for their entire working life. That could come in the form of a modest inheritance tax, as the transfer of wealth between the Baby Boomers and their offspring is set to be the largest transfer in recorded history.
The idea of an inheritance tax annoys Max Greenbrayer, who said that while he’s confident of making wealth on his own and not needing any help from his parents besides a house deposit, it doesn’t seem fair that his family should do the heavy lifting for other families that didn’t have a go.
“Like, I get it why there should be an inheritance tax but like people like my Dad have worked hard, like, his whole life and for the government to come in and say like I need to pay double stamp duty to inherit his house if he dies, is unfair,” said the 32-year-old full-time live-at-home son.
“They could make like Rio Tinto or like Gina Rinehart pay more tax, like. Like it’s unfair to target people like me; like I didn’t ask to get born into a nice family in Betoota Grove. Like, what do you want me to do? Should kids like me get put in the stocks in some shithole suburb and let public school kids throw rotten fruit at me? The politics of envy is so harmful; people should be asking the government to go after big business,”
“Not people like my Dad. Or my Mum; she had a really good job with the Queensland Government where she worked for ages and pretty much saved her entire salary. They’re a success story, and I’m just so annoyed that people want to bring them down. Like, who cares if I want to travel and go to art school? I can do nothing my whole life and still die a millionaire.”
More to come.
