Labor has made a serious blunder in linking Malcolm Turnbull’s wealth with the issue of tax transparency.
There is no evidence that the Prime Minister has done anything underhanded in the management of his tax affairs; if anything, his ambitions for public office have constrained him from engaging in legal but complex forms of tax avoidance that many other wealthy Australians have taken advantage of.
Labor, while acknowledging the legality of Turnbull’s tax affairs, have suggested he is “out of touch” with Australians because of his wealth. Given the average salary of backbench MPs is over $190,000 a year, that argument looks more than a little cute. Moreover, a recent Essential poll shows 46% of voters rate Turnbull as out of touch — exactly the same proportion as rate Bill Shorten out of touch. Indeed, it’s hard to see how Turnbull’s wealth makes him more “out of touch” than Peter Garrett, another wealthy, successful figure who entered public life, or even Kevin Rudd, a former diplomat whose wife has had great business success.
The focus on Turnbull’s wealth undermines Labor’s much stronger point that the government — in a manner reminiscent of the crony capitalism that marked the Abbott era — has legislated to protect large private companies from the public disclosure of their tax payments, on the wholly spurious grounds that this will somehow disadvantage them (the absurd “kidnapping” fiction having been abandoned as a justification).
In playing the man, rather than the policy, Labor has created a distraction from a key public issue that Turnbull should be pressured on. After two years of attacks on transparency across a number of areas of government, it is time for more scrutiny, not less. And that apples to how much tax our wealthiest companies are paying.
I totally agree that this kind of political “debate” serves no good purpose. Yet, deep down I’m still so angry at the way the Libs (and the media with the exception of Crikey) treated Gillard that I sort of view this as payback. I know, I know, it’s totally illogical but there you have it. Libs are bastards and deserve to be exposed to the crap they regularly dish out.
Aspiring to high office for some years Turnbull is sufficiently smart to have organised his financial affairs scrupulously.
As usual, Crikey misses the point.
Talk of Turdbull’s tax evasion (you would have to be a fool to think otherwise), and the failure of the Turd’s government to legislate for wealthy companies’ tax transparency, is to point out that he is only looking after himself and his mates.
However, when it comes to those on the bottom of the heap – think low paid on penalty rates and low wage superannuants – there is NO mercy for them!
It should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that the Labor party is pointing out what a bunch of hypocrites Turdbull and his motley crew are. It doesn’t matter that he is doing nothing illegal. The mere fact that these pollies make the laws to protect themselves, while disadvantaging those on the bottom of the heap, is reprehensable in the extreme!!
I have no problem with class war – anymore than I’m against breathing – but this cack-handed stupidity makes Utegate seem a strategic triumph.
No surprise that the ‘cunning plan‘ originated in an apparently empty Senate with Mini Mr Bean, the tiny, if imperfectly formed, Sam Dastyari.
With his usual unerring tin-ear bumBoil Shlernt repeated it by rote without understanding.
Shed the dead wood.
I think it is worth a mention. There would only be one reason why anyone invests in that blight on the world otherwise known as the Cayman Islands. I do not disrespect Turnbull for his money except that I remember his mongrel merchant banker mates and their destruction of mutual societies. But for gawd’s sake the Cayman’?? The word is s synonym for crooked tax dodges. Poorly done by Labor, due to ineffective leadership. The point is, here is the millionaire tax dodger cutting the incomes of the poor while hiding further dodges from his mates. Right idea, wrong execution.