Sacha Blumen has proposed using superannuation for home deposits and was interested in how the US handles withdrawing money from the 401K which is the American equivalent of Superannuation. Tim Dunlop posted an entry on Blogocracy discussing Labor's policy for a first home buyer saving scheme. I do not like the first home grant at all and a separate saving scheme seems complex when most people already have a mandated default saving scheme in Superannuation. In the United States you can withdraw or borrow money from your 401k. (more)
I just did my quarterly taxes and once again it was a frustrating exercise in complexity and confusion. To add to the concern my tax software has not been correctly working out my income tax. I did it manually and found I had a significant liability. So now I am going to have to go begging to the state tax office to try and avoid penalty fees. I am not amused.
The tax system needs to be simplified. Progressive income tax scales are a good idea but they are complex especially when done at several levels. Property taxes are actually easier for me to pay and work out than income taxes. Because I am consulting I do not have to deal with service/consumption taxes directly so I do not have an informed opinion on that.
What would premier cam do [WWPCD] if given the keys to the NSW Cabinet? (more)
