Slow News Day Article. Please forgive this intrusion.

Australians will enjoy a brand spanking new you-beaut taxation system soon.
It's called the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
It's real easy to savvy.
We adore its convolutions as per this underwhelming example.

Why are so many Australian business people having trouble understanding the new GST system?

Consider this extract from the GST Act:

"165-55 - For the purposes of making a declaration under this Subdivision, the Commissioner may:

(a) treat a particular event that actually happened as not having happened; and
(b) treat a particular event that did not not actually happen as having happened and, if appropriate, treat the event as:
(i) having happened at a particular time; and
(ii) having involved particular action by a particular entity; and
(c) treat a particular event that actually happened as:
(i) having happened at a time different from the time it actually happened; or
(ii) having involved particular action by a particular entity (whether or not the event actually involved any action by that entity)"

See - Simple!

Thank you so much for your patience.

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), February 19, 2000

Answers

They must have hired an attorney from Dewey, Cheatham and Howe to write that law.

-- JB (noway@jose.com), February 19, 2000.

Gosh, kinda reminds me of the United Staes Federal Income Tax code. Nobody can comprehend that either.

-- Patriot (taxslave@webtv.net), February 19, 2000.

I have it on good advice that they had a team of lawyers from that wellknown firm of Connive, Corrupt and Leavembroke, who specialise in Govspeak Scarlet

-- scarletbreasted (scarletbreasted@hotmail.com), February 19, 2000.

As with the IRS code in US of A, the point is to make it so complex that they are sure, and have proof, that you are in violation, after that, you are on the defensive, and it is only a matter of how much.

-- pliney the younger (pliney@puget.sound.sunny), February 19, 2000.