With some new class members joining the Politics group, we got off to an interesting start to the year with the “affair of the missing piano”. This Benalla mystery was a power play which saw some leading actors bow to public pressure.
It is a pity that similar public and political pressure does not seem sufficient to make some companies pay tax. I presented a table of the top 10 Australian companies who pay no tax and their annual profits. This caused some surprise. How can companies whose profits range from 14 billion dollars to 4 billion dollars pay no tax? Approximately 600 of the 1,500 largest companies operating in Australia in 2013-2014 paid no tax. It would be interesting to know how much public money was spent on the infrastructure projects that benefitted these companies.
The question of who will be the next American President will also keep us occupied, or bemused till the outcome is known in November, in time for our final class.
It is a pity that similar public and political pressure does not seem sufficient to make some companies pay tax. I presented a table of the top 10 Australian companies who pay no tax and their annual profits. This caused some surprise. How can companies whose profits range from 14 billion dollars to 4 billion dollars pay no tax? Approximately 600 of the 1,500 largest companies operating in Australia in 2013-2014 paid no tax. It would be interesting to know how much public money was spent on the infrastructure projects that benefitted these companies.
The question of who will be the next American President will also keep us occupied, or bemused till the outcome is known in November, in time for our final class.
