Oz political system & death tax Q
May 11th 2010, 6:24 pm
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 123
Oz political system & death tax Q
Ok so with all the fun from the election here in the Uk, the wife went and asked how it worked in Oz.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
May 11th 2010, 6:58 pm
#2
Banned
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,855
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
Ok so with all the fun from the election here in the Uk, the wife went and asked how it worked in Oz.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
Last edited by mohogony; May 11th 2010 at 7:00 pm.
May 11th 2010, 7:05 pm
#3
Shiny Arse Know All
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: Adelaide, somewhere
Posts: 14,180
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
the money was already taxed when earned and again when saved by the parents.Perhaps for once they could use it without the taxman taxing a cut 
May 11th 2010, 7:15 pm
#4
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Posts: 1,855
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
With all these tax advoidance schemes and loopholes in the tax system the rich use with the help of lawyers and accountants l wonder if they would have paid much tax on the millions they earnt at all.
May 12th 2010, 1:41 am
#5
Back to WA! Yay!
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: Madeley, WA
Posts: 975
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
Forget it - one of the reasons i moved here.
May 12th 2010, 2:05 am
#6
Retired
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,649
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
Ok so with all the fun from the election here in the Uk, the wife went and asked how it worked in Oz.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
- Federal (Commonwealth) government versus states. States have autonomy, territories do not.
- Federal Senate is powerful. States have same number of Senators.
- Alternative Vote used federally for House of Reps, proportional voting for Senate.
- Written constitution, can only be changed by referendum (national popular vote + States).
- State electoral systems a mixed bag
- Compulsory voting for Australian citizens
- Mainly two party system federally, ALP (Labor) and Liberals/Nationals (Conservative). Senate has more variety.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
But 94% of UK estates pay no inheritance tax.
May 12th 2010, 5:02 am
#7
Banned
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,855
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
So its $2M for you now, then they don't raise the threshold for a few years, like in the UK and voila you have the same crap inheritance tax system in the uk in 10-20 years time - normal middle income people who work hard all their life to pay off their modest mortgage - get clobbered with it.
Forget it - one of the reasons i moved here.
Forget it - one of the reasons i moved here.
Alright make it $5m or more l think a 20% death tax on that is fair, the children still inherit $4m and thats a million dollars that can be used for hospitals, education and other useful purposes.
Last edited by mohogony; May 12th 2010 at 5:06 am.
May 12th 2010, 6:16 am
#8
Democracy advocate
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,460
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
I think that death tax (inheritance or estate tax) is actually one of the best taxes we have and it should be made more use of (by lowering the exemption in the UK).
(1). You pay it when you are dead - not a bad time to pay tax
(2). It isn't payable when there is a living spouse - your wife/husband doesn't have to pay anything
(3). Your inheritors get a certain amount tax-free (around GBP 300k in the UK from memory) and then pay 40% on the rest of this unearned windfall that they have done nothing for.
Throughout your life you are going to have to pay a wedge of tax, if you can pay a chunk of it when you are dead and benefit from a lower tax-take when you are alive, it sounds like a good plan to me.
(1). You pay it when you are dead - not a bad time to pay tax
(2). It isn't payable when there is a living spouse - your wife/husband doesn't have to pay anything
(3). Your inheritors get a certain amount tax-free (around GBP 300k in the UK from memory) and then pay 40% on the rest of this unearned windfall that they have done nothing for.
Throughout your life you are going to have to pay a wedge of tax, if you can pay a chunk of it when you are dead and benefit from a lower tax-take when you are alive, it sounds like a good plan to me.
May 12th 2010, 6:52 am
#9
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Posts: 14,284
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
I can see both sides of the inheritance tax debate. I don't really see why, as a matter of principle somebody's death should trigger the government siezing assets, so I am sympathetic to that view.
On the other hand it is one relatively pain free way of raising tax revenue and it is still a windfall for the beneficiaries.
I definitely disagree with the assumption someboy made that probably the person avoided paying tax most of their lives anyway. I think they probably didn't, only super rich manage to do that, not ordinary middle / even high income individuals who are above the threshold simply because they have spent 25 years paying off a mortgage. A very modest house in the South East of England would take the estate over the threshold.
On the other hand it is one relatively pain free way of raising tax revenue and it is still a windfall for the beneficiaries.
I definitely disagree with the assumption someboy made that probably the person avoided paying tax most of their lives anyway. I think they probably didn't, only super rich manage to do that, not ordinary middle / even high income individuals who are above the threshold simply because they have spent 25 years paying off a mortgage. A very modest house in the South East of England would take the estate over the threshold.
May 12th 2010, 7:52 am
#10
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Posts: 6,039
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
Ok so with all the fun from the election here in the Uk, the wife went and asked how it worked in Oz.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
Apart the the usuaul 2 party system ?, I never really looked it up !!
Can someone give a basic run down of the parties and anything else for me to understand any differences.
As a seperate thing, rather then create a new thread. I also wondered for no real reason, does Oz impose a death tax like here in the Uk to claw back some of your tax paid assets when you and your spouse end their days.
Each federal seat represents roughly the same population. So some inner city seats are really small and some country seats are huge. The federal members who cover the huge seats are given extra allowances to fly around them.
The lower house uses green seats just like westminster but uses an "australian" green (from gum trees I think). Personally I think they should have kept the original colour
The senate, or upper house, uses red seats. Rather than electing senators based on population each state elects 6 senators regardless of population. This was done to stop the large states dominating all the others. The territories get 2 senators. Senators terms are 6 years, but half are always up for election at each 3 year federal election as half of the senators 6 year terms are up every 3 years (ie. they are staggered 50/50).
The senate fiercely protects its independence from the lower house - so much so that it changed (by law) its "exit" signs to red. It is the only place in Australia that, by law, is allowed to not use green exit signs.
Australia uses the preferential voting system so we choose candidates in order of preference on the ballet paper (1, 2, 3 etc) rather than just choosing one. These preferences are allocated out to candidates after each round of voting eliminates a candidate. It is also compulsory to vote in Australia.
The federal parliament controls some things in Australia while states control other things. And in some things they both have an interest.
The Australian system is a mixture of the British and US systems as it wanted to the take the best of the British system but tailor it with US bits to cater for Australia being a federation of states like the USA. It also has its own unique parts as well.
Last edited by fish.01; May 12th 2010 at 8:00 am.
May 13th 2010, 1:39 am
#11
Back to WA! Yay!
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: Madeley, WA
Posts: 975
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
I definitely disagree with the assumption someboy made that probably the person avoided paying tax most of their lives anyway. I think they probably didn't, only super rich manage to do that, not ordinary middle / even high income individuals who are above the threshold simply because they have spent 25 years paying off a mortgage. A very modest house in the South East of England would take the estate over the threshold.
It encourages you to spend before you die leaving nothing to anybody - it discourages saving for a rainy day (because you don't know when you are actually going to die), then you are dependent on the state as you've spent it all as you have lived longer than you thought!
It makes the next generation more dependent on their own merits (what ever your position on freeloaders in the family, or whatever, thats up to the family to decide in the will to give it to whoever. It doesn't have to be their children, it can go to a business, uncle, aunt, mate, whoever - not some random dole bludger in the social security trough as IHT goes).
It goes against human natural instinct of bettering ones self and their family unit and giving your children a platform to feel comfortable in your death.
It requires state money to administer to collect the tax in the first place.
It encourages off-shore schemes and tax avoidance schemes to get around it.
Wife/husband are likely to be the same age, so they will usually die within years of each other (unless they died early by accident), and then the state kicks in for their cut fairly soon thereafter, so the point saying spouse gets everything is irrelevant.
The trauma of dealing with ones estate is compounded by resentment that the government - who did nothing to deserve it - is there with their hand out.
The "Tax Free" limit is so arbitrary that its pointless in having such a limit - why not just take 40% on everything - tell me why is there any limit whatsoever if ICT is there to take - an argument that freeloaders can have 300K but no more is not the government call to decide - why not 500k, why not 5M - whats the rational behind getting something "tax free"?
Take it all, or just get out of meddling in peoples lives.
Off soap box now.
May 13th 2010, 2:35 am
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 371
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
Australia is separated into federal electorates and every 3 years each electorate elects a federal member to parliament (ie. the house of representatives, also known as the lower house). Each of these members belongs to a party. The party must win 76 seats (out of 150) around Australia to win the election (or join with another party in a coalition to do so - that's why the Liberal (city right wing) party usually join with the Nationals (country right wing). The Labor party (left wing - note no "u" in Labor) govern without a coalition.
Each federal seat represents roughly the same population. So some inner city seats are really small and some country seats are huge. The federal members who cover the huge seats are given extra allowances to fly around them.
The lower house uses green seats just like westminster but uses an "australian" green (from gum trees I think). Personally I think they should have kept the original colour
The senate, or upper house, uses red seats. Rather than electing senators based on population each state elects 6 senators regardless of population. This was done to stop the large states dominating all the others. The territories get 2 senators. Senators terms are 6 years, but half are always up for election at each 3 year federal election as half of the senators 6 year terms are up every 3 years (ie. they are staggered 50/50).
The senate fiercely protects its independence from the lower house - so much so that it changed (by law) its "exit" signs to red. It is the only place in Australia that, by law, is allowed to not use green exit signs.
Australia uses the preferential voting system so we choose candidates in order of preference on the ballet paper (1, 2, 3 etc) rather than just choosing one. These preferences are allocated out to candidates after each round of voting eliminates a candidate. It is also compulsory to vote in Australia.
The federal parliament controls some things in Australia while states control other things. And in some things they both have an interest.
The Australian system is a mixture of the British and US systems as it wanted to the take the best of the British system but tailor it with US bits to cater for Australia being a federation of states like the USA. It also has its own unique parts as well.
Each federal seat represents roughly the same population. So some inner city seats are really small and some country seats are huge. The federal members who cover the huge seats are given extra allowances to fly around them.
The lower house uses green seats just like westminster but uses an "australian" green (from gum trees I think). Personally I think they should have kept the original colour
The senate, or upper house, uses red seats. Rather than electing senators based on population each state elects 6 senators regardless of population. This was done to stop the large states dominating all the others. The territories get 2 senators. Senators terms are 6 years, but half are always up for election at each 3 year federal election as half of the senators 6 year terms are up every 3 years (ie. they are staggered 50/50).
The senate fiercely protects its independence from the lower house - so much so that it changed (by law) its "exit" signs to red. It is the only place in Australia that, by law, is allowed to not use green exit signs.
Australia uses the preferential voting system so we choose candidates in order of preference on the ballet paper (1, 2, 3 etc) rather than just choosing one. These preferences are allocated out to candidates after each round of voting eliminates a candidate. It is also compulsory to vote in Australia.
The federal parliament controls some things in Australia while states control other things. And in some things they both have an interest.
The Australian system is a mixture of the British and US systems as it wanted to the take the best of the British system but tailor it with US bits to cater for Australia being a federation of states like the USA. It also has its own unique parts as well.
May 13th 2010, 2:52 am
#13
Pie Eater
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: South Australia
Posts: 770
Re: Oz political system & death tax Q
You shouldn't rely on inheritance, get out and work for a living!!! 
I'm all for tax on inheritance. It's just another form of income - but with less effort.
I'm all for tax on inheritance. It's just another form of income - but with less effort.
