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[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Then it's not for free, is it? Someone pays those taxes. In this case, they're just giving the people the option of not paying the tax. Personally, I think they shouldn't give people that option, because someone's always dumb enough to take it.

I wonder if your homeowner's insurance refuses to pay out if your house burns down because you didn't pay the firefighters' tax.

okay, Australian constitution time.

Only the Federal government has the power to charge taxes, which we do mostly with income tax and a goods and services (sales) tax. The federal government spends much of this on social security, defense, tertiary education, and primary health care (your local GP) and divvies the rest up among the states, who spend it on hospitals, schools, police, firefighters and medium sized roads*. And probably a lot of other BS we don't really need . Local councils collect "rates" based on property values, collect garbage, fix pot-holes and regulate development/building approvals.

So calling the fire brigade is as free as calling the police. They attend based on need and are funded by the taxpayer. There is no option of paying or not paying a firefighter levy.


*IMHO this is a massively inefficient arrangement and the state governments should be pretty much abolished. Never gonna happen.