Comments on: Economic Exaggeration

By: mundi

mundi — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:41:51 +0000

labor in Qld got routed because they continually increased the cost of everything, while private sector wages stagnated or declined.

Federal labor are in denial.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:31:51 +0000

Offered Emerson to address the claims on this blog page. To his credit, he does often reply to the tweets. Unfortunately, he didn’t answer the questions I posed.

By: Skuter

Skuter — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:04:03 +0000

When I say a detailed post, I am specifically referring to an analysis of tax rates vis a vis the tax-to-GDP ratio.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:47:14 +0000

I agree with Skuter. It is a common cry by lefties and analysis says that Labor is not really a lower taxing Government. The figure is thrown around a lot without people knowing the true meaning of the figure.

By: Skuter

Skuter — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:33:21 +0000

Sinc, I reckon this tax-to-GDP nonsense that Emerson, Swan, et al. keep sprouting really needs to be exposed for the utter bullshit it is. Time for a detailed post on the issue if you are so inclined???

By: Skuter

Skuter — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:19:14 +0000

…but I am sick of him and others misrepresenting the facts.

I hear ya brother!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:43:42 +0000

So Emerson is a liar. I’m utterly shocked Andrew. Aren’t you?

Not shocked but I am sick of him and others misrepresenting the facts.

By: Skuter

Skuter — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:40:30 +0000

So Emerson is a liar. I’m utterly shocked Andrew. Aren’t you?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:37:25 +0000

Skuter, here is what he and I both said.

Me: “If @CraigEmersonMP thinks that tax as % gdp is lower under this Govt, what taxes did this Govt cut, to reduce that figure?”

Emerson: Only the Liberals would claim tax as a share of GDP was lower under previous Government. This claim is utterly false.

I do understand that tax as a % of gdp is higher under the Howard Government, but when challenging Emerson on what the Government did to cut taxes (that is what the Government claims they did), he did not answer me. I pressed him on the topic again.
…

Me: “Name the taxes ALP cut”

Emerson: “Trebled tax-free threshold. Fact.”

The only tax Emerson could name was the tax free threshold. WE all know that the tax free threshold only was introduced in the recent budget, not back in Labor’s first budget. The decline in “Tax as a % of GDP” happened back when Labor first came into power. Accepting Emerson’s premise that they cut taxes to lower that figure, where are the other taxes he cut back in 08-09?

By: Skuter

Skuter — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:24:35 +0000

http://www.budget.gov.au/2012-13/content/bp1/html/bp1_bst5-03.htm (See table 7 here for tax rates)
http://www.budget.gov.au/2012-13/content/myefo/html/13_appendix_d.htm (See tables D1 and D2 for receipts to GDP and tax to GDP ratios)

The two links above tend to prove Emerson’s contention wrong (if what Andrew @ 4.14pm says above is correct). Small problem with timing and causation. As a matter of fact, Treasury forecasts tax to GDP to rise after the rate changes. In part this must be because of an increase in labour supply, no? To think that cretin has a PhD in economics…