Some Australians aren't paying tax due to a rise in 'sovereign accounting'
www.abc.net.au
Groups spring up on social media, claiming to hold secret knowledge the Australian government is holding back from regular citizens: the Australian Taxation Office "isn't real".

The sovereign citizen movement rejects the legitimacy of the government. Its fast-growing popularity has had authorities scrambling to get a handle on how far its tentacles have reached.

Unfortunately, Mr Oxby was persuaded by this theory during the seminar, which I infer from his evidence, was presented in a persuasive and charismatic manner."

He was ultimately fined $14,000.

    • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
      111·
      3 months ago

      Well, unless you’re going to be thrown into jail for not paying a debt, you actually don’t have to pay it. Especially if the costs are not disclosed beforehand and are exorbitant. Enough people do that and market forces will prevail.

      • goodthanks@lemmy.world
        13·
        3 months ago

        Look, I’m not going to argue with you on this anymore since you seem to be fairly dead set on this idea of private industry and market forces being superior, which they are demonstrably not. The overarching point is that basic human needs like health care, aged care etc. should not have a profit incentive. The only way to remedy that is to invest properly in government services and also hold the political class to account when those services are not adequately delivered.