Monthly Archives: May 2017

The numerous problems that need to be addressed (1)

The numerous problems that need to be addressed
Part 1 of a 3 part series

People go into business for a variety of reasons, whether it be simply to make a profit or because they have a passion for a product or service. But in the Australian modern world, business owners always appear to draw the short end of the stick, so let’s discuss profit, taxes, governments dipping their hands in your pockets, and the union movement to see if we can’t make any sense of the insane world in which we live.

It’s insane if you’re a business owner, or perhaps even a corporation trying to make a profit, but at the same time make a difference to the lives of those with whom you interact – we’re talking staff, customers, suppliers and any other stakeholder you can think of.

In a business, there are revenues and costs. That’s it. One would hope that revenue is greater than cost so you make some money out of it, what we call profit. From that profit, the government has always stuck its hand out and taken some of that from you, so one would hope by the time all the leaches have had a go at you, there is still something left for you who, after all, is taking all the risks.

Some of the things that impact on profit may not show up in a profit and loss statement, which is why numerous business owners ask their accountants, “If I made all this profit, […]

May 12th, 2017|Business Learning|

The numerous problems that need to be addressed (2)

The numerous problems that need to be addressed
Part 2 of a 3 part series

In this three-part series, I’ve been looking at how governments and unions dip their hands into the pockets of business owners and help themselves to any profits by way of taxes, high labour costs and other forms of revenue. Here, there’s more to it, and I’ll be taking a look at governments in general and their ridiculous costs for everything when it comes to building a development.

The topic of government charges was discussed briefly when I talked about the different taxes that state and federal governments lay on us, and also through their pseudo-government departments, which are disguised as little quangos or whatever they are.

The fact of the matter is that if you’re in property, and let’s face it, most businesses need to operate out of a property somewhere, then the government will charge you a tax on the value of the property. It’s called land tax. Brilliant idea, isn’t it?

You would think so, but I’ll tell you why it isn’t.

Hurting the business owners with more tax
The price of land tax gets passed on to the business owner who’s operating out of that business, and he just ends up passing it on to his customer (product price hikes). But, if you’re in a business that’s a price taker and not a price maker, then your only option is to reduce your costs. But how? Well, you can’t go to the government and say, ‘You need to […]

May 12th, 2017|Business Learning|

The numerous problems that need to be addressed (3)

The numerous problems that need to be addressed
Part 3 of the 3 part series

In this three-part series, I’ve been looking at how governments and unions dip their hands into the pockets of business owners and help themselves to any profits by way of taxes, high labour costs and other forms of revenue. I’ve come up with an idea to fight the unions and the government to stop rorting money from businesses and property developers; maybe it will one day come to fruition and a change will be made.

I’ve talked about business owners and how they pay exorbitant commercial rents to their landlords, with no chance of those fees decreasing. I’ve discussed government and union officials taking money from the taxpayers’ by way of increasing labour costs and taxes of any kind. I’ve even raised the issue of property developers paying for report after report after report just to get councils and various levels of government to look at the proposals.

And now here’s my plan of action.

Shut shop, and keep it shut
For many years the union movement, and employees in general, have always taken the position that, ‘If I don’t like something, I can withdraw my labour and I can sit outside the gate and your business won’t work.’

True. It’s called a strike. But here’s what I think.

I think all business owners in Australia, and even in other parts of the world, should get together and do the same thing. I’m not kidding. Shut your business for a week, just […]

May 12th, 2017|Business Learning|