by Peter Symon
                           
                           The revelation that the Federal Government budget has a $7.5 billion tax 
                           surplus shows conclusively that the savage cutbacks that the Howard 
                           Government has made to public health, education and many welfare programs 
                           cannot be justified. The money was there to finance these government 
                           responsibilities. The cutbacks were driven by the Howard Government's 
                           ideological agenda, their hostility to everything that is publicly owned 
                           and that benefits the ordinary working people and their families.
                           
                           The budget income and expenditure is not audited by any outside body and 
                           the surplus may be much more than has been revealed.
                           
                           It has not been achieved as a result of "good management" by Howard and 
                           Costello but by the millions of dollars cut from the proportion of 
                           government expenditure going to health and education and other welfare 
                           programs.
                           
                           Other contributing factors are the imposition of the GST by the Howard 
                           Government that has taken billions from the pockets of mainly working 
                           people. Over $31 billion was collected from the GST in the last financial 
                           year and it has been rising by about $3 billion each year.
                           
                           Bracket creep
                           
                           Another factor is "bracket creep" that pushes some wage and salary earners 
                           into more highly taxed brackets. There is a justified argument that tax 
                           brackets should be adjusted to take account of the increase in wage levels 
                           for some categories of workers.
                           
                           There has been a massive assault on the unemployed, disabled persons, carer 
                           allowances and those receiving other necessary welfare benefits.
                           
                           The Howard Government is the most destructive of essential services that 
                           Australia has ever had. At the same time it has imposed on working people 
                           the heaviest tax regime of any in the developed industrialised countries.
                           
                           The statements by Howard and Costello following the announcement of the 
                           budget surplus clearly indicate their cycnical preference for tax 
                           concessions to middle income earners in the hope that this will win their 
                           vote for the present government in the next Federal election.
                           
                           Priority
                           
                           The priority must now be established by a massive public demand that the 
                           monies cut from health, education and other social welfare benefits be 
                           restored and that this BE GIVEN PRIORITY over tax cuts to only a few. This 
                           provides benefits to all and particularly to low and middle income earners 
                           to pensioners and other welfare beneficiaries.
                           
                           The fact that the Government has been forced to suspend the health 
                           insurance levy imposed on doctors as a result of the threatened resignation 
                           of specialist doctors shows that decisive action by sections of the 
                           community can force a retreat by the government.
                           
                           * The budget surplus must be used to increase the rebate paid to doctors so 
                           that Medicare bulk-billing can be maintained as a service to every member 
                           of the community.
                           
                           * The free public dental service destroyed by the Howard Government should 
                           be re-established.
                           
                           * Some of the surplus could be used to re-establish government insurance 
                           offices so that the huge costs imposed on doctors by way of insurance 
                           premiums could be scaled back and contained. The policy of privatisation 
                           should be reversed.
                           
                           * Millions are available to properly fund universities and to wind back the 
                           new impositions recently forced on the public education system. HECs fees 
                           should be completely abolished. (In the 1970s it was possible to have free 
                           tuition in universities but 30 years later universities are being starved 
                           while huge debts are being forced on students).
                           
                           * Any government concerned for the Australian people and the future of our 
                           country should reestablish free public education from kindergarten to 
                           university.
                           
                           Who pays?
                           
                           A basic question concerning taxation is, who pays? While company tax has 
                           been reduced from 47c in the dollar to its present 30c in the dollar — and 
                           many companies pay much less than this requirement, with some paying no tax 
                           at all — tax paid by working families has gone up, particularly as a 
                           result of the GST.
                           
                           The CPA remains adamantly opposed to the discriminatory GST. It should be 
                           replaced with a progressive tax system based on earned income, particularly 
                           by tax paid on company profits.
                           
                           The fact that many families are vastly worse off is revealed in the figures 
                           for household debt which has risen from $290 billion in 1996 (the year the 
                           Howard Government was first elected) to $660 billion now. This situation 
                           demands that the financial policies being pursued by the government are 
                           forcing many more to borrow to keep going. The debt on credit card 
                           borrowings is now substantially over $20 billion — over $1000 for every 
                           man, woman and child in Australia.
                           
                           Another source of budget income could be that from the profits earned by 
                           publicly owned enterprises. The stupidity of the privatisation of public 
                           enterprises and facilities such as the sale of Qantas, airports, Telstra, 
                           the sell-off of buildings previously owned by governments, is now apparent.
                           
                           Kenneth Davidson writing in the Melbourne Age writes, ".the 
                           dividends forgone from the sale of half of Telstra are greater than the 
                           interest saved on the retirement of debt. The leaseback arrangements from 
                           the sale of Government property such as the Foreign Affairs headquarters 
                           are far more expensive than the previous situation in which the Government 
                           owned the buildings".
                           
                           He writes, "an extra billion dollars a year put back into public hospitals 
                           and universities would generate jobs and take pressure off household 
                           debt".
                           
                           Letters carried in daily newspapers and the response on talk-back radio 
                           indicate that many people do not support tax cuts while allocations to 
                           public services such as health, education and welfare are further attacked 
                           and neglected.
                           
                           Public pressure demanding that these services be given priority needs to be 
                           built from now until the next election as part of the campaign to 
                           decisively defeat this most conservative and anti-people government that 
                           Australia has ever suffered. Letters to newspapers and participation in 
                           talk-back radio session, writing to your local Federal member and Senator 
                           will all help to build the campaign.
                           
                           Vital statistics:
                           
                           Foreign debts has grown from $190 billion when the Howard Government was 
                           elected to $360 billion now.
                           
                           Commonwealth taxation has increased from 23.5 percent of GDP (1996) to 25.4 
                           percent of GDP in 2003.
                           
                           Household debt is up from $290 billion in 1996 to $660 billion now.
                           
                           The Federal Government's GST rip-off increased from $27 billion when first 
                           introduced in 2001 to $341.25 billion in the last financial year.