How to Vote for Fair Tax
We are giving our upper house preferences to the former Liberal minister Robert Brokenshire and more importantly the lower house preferences will go to the Liberal Party.
Please have a look at our How to Vote cards on the files below.
Stop the KACHING! Pay FAIR TAX!
"You don't have the moral fibre to go back on your promise. I have ..." - Kevin Foley, Hansard, July 15, 2002.
WHEN it comes to keeping their election promises, Mike Rann and Kevin Foley are full of “moral fibre”.
It’s now almost a decade since the Spin King promised to bulldoze bikie fortresses.
But, all we’re seeing bulldozed are Mitsubishi, a racecourse at Cheltenham, a public park at Woodville, and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
They promised we could trust them with our money. What we actually got was a media machine with more than 150 spin doctors costing over $19 million a year.
We got 17,000 extra public servants, only around 5000 of whom are teachers, nurses or police.
We got a government that spends our money like there’s no tomorrow – on Lear jets, limousines and living the high life.
And now, boo hoo, they’re the “underdog” because they think we’re stupid voters and didn’t understand the message from their multi-million-dollar spin machine.
Next Saturday is our one-in-four-year chance to show that we do understand – and that we’re sick of the spin, the slick TV images and, most of all, the tax grab that slugs all of us every time we turn a tap, flick a switch, or turn a key.
It’s time to stop the kaching! and make it clear we only want to pay FAIR TAX. – George Kargiotis
Kevin Foley's Night Out
In January and August 2008, Kevin Foley spent three nights socialising at the Whiskey Blue nightclub in New York.
He claimed his bar tabs as official expenses for us to pay, but reimbursed Treasury for 50% for two of the bills.
This is what the New York Magazine website has to say about Whiskey Blue:
"... an onslaught of desperate-for-a-drink suits descending on the place nightly, looking to score martinis and women. They do pretty well on both counts ... with a significan turnout of young women - tottering on high-high heels - thinking this just might be the night they meet the seven-figure man of their dreams."
Nice work... if you can get it.
Let's Look at the Facts
Since 2002:
- Land Tax increased by 301%
- Stamp Duty increased by 92%
- Payroll Tax increased by 50%
- Motor Vehicle Tax increased by 39%
Back here in the real world, the people who pay the unfair taxes that keep the Rann Government in Lear jets, limousines and living the high life, are really starting to hurt.
Those who can are starting to cut jobs and shift their investment to other States ... and that means a real problem for all of us if the Rann Government is re-elected on Saturday.
"I'm not investing any more in South Australia. My land tax bill has jumped from $155,000 to $253,000 in one year - even though the global financial crisis crippled my Legends Estate development in Whyalla." - Rob Gwynne, who has shifted $10 million in investment funds to the Norther Territory.
"If you have a choice between NSW, Victoria or SA, why would you pick the state with the least competitive taxes - land tax, payroll tax and stamp duties. In SA we need to be more competitive against the Eastern seaboard states with taxes which we are not at the moment. For this reason we have decided not to open any more stores in SA." - Andrew Ronenberg, general manager, Globalize.
"Investment in SA is waning. A lot of SA investors are starting to move their money interstate because high taxes are killing their returns." - Gordon Franklin, commercial property adviser.
"I'm angry as hell at Mr Rann and Kevin Foley. My land tax jumped from $8000 to $30,000 in one year and I couldn't afford to hire a really good worker I wanted to put on full-time. When I complained, Rann sent me a Twitter message I found personally insulting and offensive." - Pat Ryan, tank manufacturer.
"It's cruel, we're just ordinary voters, not millionaires - but the land tax bill on our holiday home jumped 60% in a year the CPI was up only 3%. There are a lot of other people on Yorke Peninsula also finding it really difficult. It hurts when you know you're getting really slugged just to pay for Rann's media machine." - Brenton Schahinger, ordinary bloke.
Vote 1 in Box M for George KARGIOTIS in the Legislative Council and I'll be your FIGHTER FOR FAIR TAX.
SA - The Highest Taxes!
Turn on a tap, flick a switch, turn a key... and the money meters down at Treasury go KACHING!
According to the Institute of Public Affairs, South Australia has become the highest-taxing State for business.
Why? Because Mike Rann and Kevin Foley spend our money like there's no tomorrow!
George says:
Under Mike Rann and Kevin Foley, South Australia has become Australia’s highest-taxing State for business... but also for ordinary people paying ordinary bills like water rates, electricity tariffs, car rego and insurance. And there’s been a truly massive slug on people who try to set themselves up for retirement by buying investment property. It doesn’t matter if smart, spinning politicians come up with fancy names like Emergency Services Levy, tariffs, rates, or stamp duty - it’s all tax... and we all pay... all the time.
Ordinary South Australians need another ordinary South Aussie in the Upper House to make sure both major parties stop wasting our money!
Top MPs ring up $1M Phone Bill
George says:
If these guys were paying out of their own pocket, they’d be down to the phone shop in a flash. They’d discover what the rest of us have – that for as little as $99 a month you can get a capped plan that lets you talk, text or Tweet as much as you like. These guys either don’t know, or don’t care, that ordinary South Aussies out here have been forced to sell the family holiday shack or give up their retirement block at Moonta to pay the tax so Rann and Foley can blather, blabber, blah, text and Tweet their way to the next stop on the gravy train.
Mike Rann's Tax Grab
Okay, this is where I normally put the smartalec ‘George says’ line to get your attention.
But, I’m not stupid and nor are you – so give me a single minute of your time to read this and, together, we might be able to save you some money.
When Mike Rann called the election last Saturday he admitted he might have made some mistakes and ‘maybe’ could have explained a few things better. With the number of spin doctors he’s got, that’s not a joke… it’s an insult – to all of us.
The fact is that taxes here are out of control. Labor likes to pretend that only the rich pay land tax and that’s just not true. Most people who’ve had a holiday shack on the river or at the coast for years are now really getting slugged.
Almost anybody who rents - whether it’s a shop, office, warehouse, factory space or a house or apartment – is also getting slugged. The reality is that a lot of people scrimp, save and mortgage themselves to the hilt to buy property to make sure they can take care of themselves and their family in the future.
They’re ordinary people – and they’re the ones whose money really drives all that construction activity that brings the cranes on the skyline the politicians like to take credit for.
But, since 2002, the land tax grab has jumped from under $145 million to more than $560 million, according to the figures in the recent mid-year Budget Review.
That’s more than a million dollars extra coming out of our pockets every single day. Make no mistake – there’s only one source of tax and it’s us. It doesn’t matter if we’re buying a beer, an ice cream for the kids, a car or a house … we pay every single cent of every tax that’s levied.
Which brings me to my point. March 20 is our once-in-four-year opportunity where we get to make a difference. Yes, either Mike Rann or Isobel Redmond will form Government.
But, Nick Xenophon has shown us that one honest, upfront person who cares about the issues that affect ordinary people can take a stick to both sides as an independent voice in the Upper House, the Legislative Council.
The media commentators will dismiss us as ‘a single-issue’ party – and we are. We’re actually getting really fed-up with the spin cycle, the limo lifestyle and the billion-dollar white elephants.
So, no matter who you pick in the Lower House, we’d really like you to put a sharp edge on your Upper House vote and put in someone who’ll stop them wasting our money.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and remember that we’re not powerless all the time. We can make a difference on March 20 – without the tanks and guns and thugs they use in some other places.
I hope you’re getting a chuckle out of the cartoons. There’ll be more of them as the campaign continues because, as you and I know, we don’t have to take these guys as seriously as they take themselves!
– George Kargiotis
A big tax has a BIG impact
A big tax has a BIG impact... on prices on rent, on jobs, on investment.
We all pay... ALL the time!
Vote 1 George KARGIOTIS on March 20th and he'll be your FIGHTER FOR FAIR TAX!
Mike Rann's $19m Spin Machine
We Need A LEVEL Playing Field!
If our football teams had to play with goalposts this much higher than teams from every other State, we’d be out there lynching whoever came up with such unfair rules.
So, why are Mike Rann and Kevin Foley forcing us to play the investment game under a tax grab that is so blatantly unfair?
In 2002, land tax was less than $145 million a year. In the latest mid-year Budget Review, that figure had soared to $561 million – a 301% increase.
Their spin machine has a lot of people convinced it doesn’t matter because they don’t pay land tax. That’s a sucker’s line. We all pay … all the time.
If you’re renting – a house, a shop, an office, a warehouse – you’re paying land tax because it’s a big chunk of the rent. If you’re buying anything – a beer, an ice cream, a car – you’re paying land tax because it’s a built-in component of the price tag.
We’re all getting slugged whenever we turn a tap, flick a switch, or turn a key.
But, it’s even more important than that. Do any of us think we’re going to stay competitive as a State if anyone who invests has to try to kick over goalposts that are so much higher than anywhere else?
There’s an old saying in politics that people get the Government they deserve. Well, we deserve better than this – and in a couple of weeks it’s our chance to change the rules back to a level playing field.
It’s our once-in-four-year opportunity to have a real impact.
It’s our last chance for a long time to elect an independent voice in the Upper House to take a stick to both major parties and get ordinary taxpayers like us a fair deal on tax.
Every vote counts… every one of us can make a difference.
– George Kargiotis
Fair Tax - Press Release
The Fair Tax Party has launched its campaign for the March 20 State election, taking out full-page advertisements in Adelaide’s weekend newspapers.
Upper House candidate, George Kargiotis, says it’s the first shot in an intensive campaign aimed at highlighting how Australia’s highest tax rates, coupled with wasteful spending by Government Ministers, are hurting ordinary South Australians – from pensioners to business people.
“Over the next four weeks, we’re going to be showing real life examples of how people’s current lives and future plans are being wrecked by unfair taxes while Rann Government Ministers splurge our money on Lear jets, limousines and living the high life,” Mr Kargiotis said.
“We have real stories to tell – a pensioner forced to sell the family’s much-loved holiday shack because he was hit with a huge land tax bill he couldn’t pay … a young entrepreneur who can’t grow his business in his home State because payroll tax is killing him … middle-aged couples who suddenly find the plans they made to take care of themselves in retirement are going to cost them more in tax than they’ll make in income.”
Mr Kargiotis accused politicians of trying to be clever by hiding the real rate of tax under names like levy, tariffs, rates, fees and stamp duty.
“We’re going to be making the point that it’s all tax – and that we all pay, all the time … every time we turn a tap, flick a switch, or turn a key in the ignition,” Mr Kargiotis said.
“Politicians like to pretend ordinary people aren’t affected by land tax or payroll tax, but we’re going to show they are – if you’re scraping to pay the rent on a house, you’re paying a lot of tax you probably didn’t know about; if you’re buying a pair of designer jeans, you’re paying a lot of tax you didn’t know about.
“We’re not nuts and we’re not making ridiculous demands. We’re not against paying FAIR TAX, but we are against the amount of our money that’s being wasted in small amounts that add up to a lot - $100,000 to hire the Premier’s good friends here, a million dollars there to pay for mobile phone bills, a delay in making a $9 million cut to the government advertising budget.
“Our point is … if they can’t be trusted to be careful with small amounts of our money, than what hope do we have they’ll get it right on a billion-dollar hospital, or half-billion dollar freeway?”
The party will run candidates in key Labor marginal seats in the Lower House, as well as putting Mr Kargiotis forward as an Upper House candidate.
(Pronunciation note: Kargiotis is pronounced with a “hard” G.)
