Release: Blue collar workers paying 54 percent tax

Release: Blue collar workers paying 54 percent tax

The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, the nation’s largest grassroots advocacy group representing taxpayers, today calls for reform of the top marginal tax rate.

“Australians face a top marginal tax rate of 54 percent when you add in income tax, payroll tax, and GST. While some may consider this fair, it hurts people at all levels of achievement,” says ATA Communications Manager, Emilie Dye. “Politicians should spend less time creating a hologram of fairness and more time putting money back into the pockets of hard working Australians.”

“The government is asking workers to put in $100 of effort for $46 of pay. But Aussies are smarter than that and ultimately the Australian economy suffers.”

“We all like to think of the high power executives in shiny air-conditioned corner offices paying their fair share of tax. But miners, construction workers, diesel mechanics, and other laborers in difficult and dangerous fields all fall into the highest tax bracket.

“Workers sweating through 40 degree days doing risky hard labor deserve every dollar they earn. And someone who burns the midnight oil at the office deserves his whole pay raise not less than half of it. Workers earn high salaries for a reason.

“Redistribution of wealth does not work, because rational people won’t work for less than they deserve. The Epicenter report released today shows ex-communist countries have learned their lesson and are taxing the highest earners substantially less than neighboring countries.

“By focusing on so called fairness, politicians are shooting the economy in the foot and hurting the workers trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder. Politicians should let our construction workers, miners, and the office IT guy get ahead instead of taking over half of their hard earned money.”