I went shopping today and purchased a BBQ chicken from the deli section of the supermarket. On the way back home, I picked up a copy of the Port Macquarie Independent (3/11) and read the letter from Lesley Chapman where she stated “The GST is easier to implement than the carbon tax as it is calculated on a percentage of the cost of the goods or services” and “is sure to make life difficult for many tax accountants”.
The BBQ chicken that I purchased was in a refrigerated section of the deli department of the supermarket and hence GST was not charged. If I had purchased it hot a few metres away in the warmer, then GST would have been applicable and charged. This is one of the many quirks that the two million businesses in Australia registered for GST have to deal with.
There will be 500 companies only (not two million) in Australia who will have to pay for the cost of CO2 emissions and their obligations are easily calculated.
It is absurd to argue that a price on CO2 emissions is more difficult for business than the GST.
Peter Alley,
Dunbogan
