Kochie’s official website | the Kochie Blog : Your money, your life, and keeping it real by David Koch

The Government's 'No Brainers' For Tax Reform

Lets call for an official end to talking about tax reform and simply demand action.

Look, last week’s Tax Forum was interesting and there appeared to be a lot of goodwill from the delegates for change. But it was the same old issues being rehashed by the same people from the same special interest group with the same agendas.

A common theme seemed to be continual reference to last year’s Henry Report on tax reform. The Henry report seems to have taken on the mantle of being the benchmark and reference point for any discussion on Tax Reform.

It would have been simpler and cheaper to have just adopted Ken Henry’s report in the first place. If the Federal Government wanted any assurances that the Henry Report is the blueprint for our future tax system, then they would have received that message loud and clear from the Tax Forum delegates.

Another thing which became clear was that the toughest issues of tax reform are being lumped in with the “no-brainers” to a point where nothing is happening. The big tax issues are distracting everyone from getting the easy ones done.

Like anything, tax reform is all about momentum. Once you get reform going the process generates its own enthusiasm and resources to get things done.

That’s where we are now.

The Federal Government needs to now provide a clear blueprint of the way forward. A sort of “to-do” list on tax reform.

But that To-do list should divide Tax Reform up in to the no-brainers which can be done right now, the achievable reforms which need a little bit more work and the controversial reforms which need a lot more work.

( 1 Vote )

What Is A Reverse Mortgage, And Is It A Good Idea?

A lot of senior Australians are asset rich and cash poor. They may own their home outright, which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they don’t have enough spare cash to pay the bills and have a bit of fun.

A reverse mortgage, sometimes called a lifetime mortgage or a seniors finance equity release loan, is a loan available to seniors 63 years and older which allows them to use the equity in their home to release cash for their own use.

The loan can be taken as a lump sum, a regular income stream, a line of credit or a combination of these options. And there are no repayments.

But before you get too excited, the repayments accumulate and is made when the property is sold or out of the estate when the borrowers die. While no monthly repayments are required, voluntary payments can be made in between to lighten the load of the balance. It’s a useful option for seniors who wish to remain in their homes but need some extra cash for renovations, a new car, health expenses, whatever you wish. The bank has no say on how the money needs to be used.

Most major banks will lend anywhere from $10,000 to $250,00, depending on the age of the applicant, the value of the home, and its location. There are a few risks with the interest rates being generally higher than average home loans, and the debt can rise quickly as the interest compounds on the rising loan.

( 1 Vote )

Aussie Economy: #Winning

Sure the world is financially sick but Australia is in a league of its own. As we’ve been saying for a while, this is the best place in the world to ride out the global turmoil and last week’s economic growth figures are testament to that view.

Economic growth of 1.2 per cent for the June quarter was a lot better than gurus predicted and if it wasn’t for the setback from the floods and cyclone earlier in the year our economy would be growing by about 4 per cent.

The sheer size of the commodities boom is certainly skewing the economic averages, but even so the economy seems to be expanding across the board.

We still stick by the view that most people should forget about sharemarket gyrations and just focus on China still buying our minerals and property prices staying solid

( 3 Votes )

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The Myth of The Aussie Bludger

This myth of the Aussies being bludgers has always annoyed us.

One of the reasons our economy is so strong is because we work so hard. One of the reasons Aussies find it easy to work overseas is because we’re seen as hard workers.

A new study has compared the amount of holidays (annual leave plus public holidays) the average worker takes across a range of different countries and Australia is about average with 28 days a year.

Canada (with 19 days a year) is the tightest on holidays followed by China (21).

The US (25), Singapore (25), India (28) and Germany (30) are around our level but we are way below some of the European and South American countries.

The Brazilians top the charts for holidays (41 days) while the French, Fins and Russians all get 40 days of holiday entitlements a year. Even Japan (36) and the Kiwis (31) receive more holidays than us.