2008年9月19日星期五

四成澳洲家庭无需缴税


2008年9月20日《澳洲人报》周末版报道,一项最新的研究显示,由于两届政府的减税、增加福利等措施,过去四年来,实际缴税额为负数的澳洲家庭增加了276,000个,也就是说,如今有411.3万个澳洲家庭(占总家庭数量的42%)实际上无需缴纳任何税款。

据墨尔本研究院的调查显示,有13.4万未能享受到免税的中等收入纳税人支付的税率从30%上升至40%,他们中的大部分是年薪超过$8万澳元的有家室的男性。他们的付出通常帮助了他们兼职的妻子获得慷慨的减税,从而使99.6万低收入者的纳税率从30%下降至15%。

资料显示,前霍华德政府提供了澳洲有史以来最大的社会福利,而目前执政的工党并未能予以改变。自从2004年,由中国带动的资源热潮,使澳洲资源经济非常蓬勃,有13.2万个有孩子的家庭享受免税;2万个单亲家庭和12.4万对夫妻和单身人士处于纳税的灰色区。

慷慨的税收制度使得纳税人可获得收入而不用交税。单身的免税收入可达$19,448元;单亲可达$53,819元;有两个孩子,夫妻均有收入的家庭免税收入可达$59,367元。

随着人口的老年化,这种制度的危险是当经济放缓时选民会要求更多的补贴,到下一个10年的后期,将会有50%的家庭享受免税。

心的旅途 新的足迹


今天出版的《同路人》杂志刊载了新足迹“掌门人”astina的专访文章,翔实而精致,并配有多张as的照片,特别让我们这些常上论坛的网友多了一份亲切感。

想起今年1月初她刚刚创立新足迹的时候,仅有几十位网友,如今发展壮大,心里感到很是欣慰。

在如歌的岁月里,祝愿新足迹百尺竿头,更进一步,“心坦荡,行者无疆”。

澳洲醉汉骑马被控酒后“驾驶”

2008年9月19日中国新闻网报道, 一名22岁男子怀疑在澳洲昆省西北部喝得烂醉后骑马,他被控酒后“驾驶”罪名。

这名男子凌晨在Mount Isa骑马时,血液酒精指数达到1.046。警方认为正是时候提醒大家遵守交通规则,不管使用何种交通工具。

该男子将于10月13日到Mount Isa地方法庭应讯。

沪深股市大盘涨停


昨晚三大强力利好横空出世,今天沪深股市大幅跳空高开,稍稍回软后大盘几乎封上了涨停板,并且一直持续到目前,呈现井喷行情,个股方面几乎全线涨停,这是十多年来所罕见!

目前沪市总卖量不到60万股,而总买量达到了44亿多股,如此强劲的买气令人震撼。。。

墨尔本最宜居城区--Bentleigh East


Safe: Christina Miesen and her daughter Anna love living in Bentleigh East.

2008年9月19日《Herald Sun》报道,经过一个星期连续的报道和评估,今天的《Herald Sun》终于公布了墨尔本最宜居的城区,那就是位于东南区的Bentleigh East。

墨尔本近城以东、东南以及海滨区房价在大幅上涨之后,一些心有余而力不足的置业人士将目光转向东区和东南区的中部城区,其中Bentleigh和Bentleigh East就成为其目标区域之一,从而带动这些区内房价水涨船高。

地产经纪David Jane说:“在Bentleigh区,我们往往给一栋房产估了一个价格,最终市场的反应总比这个估价高出10%。”Hocking Stuart地产公司的经纪人Nick Renna也表示,在这些热门区域,最近两周的房产拍卖成交价都比预期的要高出$5~6万元左右。他透露,一位海外买家以$120万元买下一栋位于Mckinnon SC校区内的房产。

那些想购买Brighton和Caulfied区高端房产的买家,退而求其次,往往转而选择Bentleigh。在公立学校排行榜上名列前矛的McKinnon Secondary College坐落于该区,更是这个区房价飞涨的重要原因。不要说这些豪宅,就连一般的房子也越来越难以令人负担得起了。

同样是2月18号,一栋位于Bentleigh East的房子建于1950年,房龄已超过55年。上市的地产经纪本来以为最后的成交价最高不会超过44万,没想到结果以$50万元成交。

这是两年前发表在墨尔本《时代报》上的一篇相关文章:
From 'Have kids, must move out''

The Age February 26, 2006

In some ways, the couples who move to once-daggy McKinnon can suck on their lattes as well as live in the home of their dreams.

The comparatively nondescript patch of suburb, wedged on flat land between Ormond and Bentleigh, is undergoing a mini-boom in school populations and real estate prices. One primary school has seen enrolments rise from 150 to more than 500 in the past decade.

Real estate agents such as Nick Renna of Hocking Stuart and Craig Williamson of Buxtons are enjoying the action as hundreds of people inspect any house in the $550-650,000 price range.
Mostly, they say, the influx is coming from St Kilda, Elwood and Carlton, among people who are trying to hold on to a cosmopolitan lifestyle - they still want the "brekky" outside on Sunday morning. If Bentleigh doesn't suit - and it is trying very hard - then St Kilda is only 10 minutes away.

Williamson says the area's period houses - invariably the Californian bungalow - are often unrenovated, having been in one family for a lifetime. They are affordable - and young couples love stamping their own style upon them.

The magnet at the hub of all this action is McKinnon Secondary College, which last year attained its long-held ambition to be the state system's top non-selective-entry VCE school, measured by the number of subject scores over 40.

The school has always done well, but principal Alan Lawrence can boast that it just pipped the highly regarded Glen Waverley Secondary, and that 93 per cent of the VCE class got first-round university offers.

This year, McKinnon has 1402 students, all taken from the school zone and from siblings of children already at the school.

But Lawrence would like the freedom to pick another 20 or so children from outside the zone for the music-specialty school (the school is famous as the place where The Cat Empire's Harry Angus learned his trumpet skills).

As a result, discussions will be held this week about reducing the size of the zone.

For home buyers, this is the wildcard, one of the factors the Gannons took into account when they bought in Queen Street, just a few streets from the school.

For Andrew, an IT professional working in South Melbourne, and Michelle, a partner in a Camberwell hairdressing salon, it was always going to be a top public or private school for Dylan.
They could probably afford private education, they say, but opted instead to put the money into renovation and possibly a swimming pool."

The other thing was that we didn't want to be slaves to our kids' education, and we also factored in that if we could spend more time with them, rather than having to work, that would also be pretty positive in the relationship and support," Andrew says. So McKinnon it was.

墨尔本一小学为五、六年级小学生每人发一部笔记本电脑


Yarra Junction Primary will give each of its 100 grade 5 and 6 pupils a mini-laptop.

澳大利亚家庭每星期平均汽油费支出超过$50元


2008年9月19日《悉尼晨锋报》报道,澳洲储备银行最新一份有关高油价的影响报告显示,澳洲家庭每星期汽油费的支出平均达到$50元,许多家庭正在努力减少汽油的消耗量,比如,购买小排量汽车,多使用公共交通工具,减少开车次数等。

与此同时,许多家庭都在努力赚钱存钱,以防万一,比如生病或失业。每10个家庭中,就有4家表示正在攒钱。

澳大利亚已经进入了“减少支出,努力存钱”的新时代。