jamesnixon.com
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When The Kiwis Left The Sinking Ship
As a single person in Australia, you are highly-taxed (‘High Taxes Keep Us Away’ Letters 'The Australian' 7/4/06).
Then your Financial Planner (‘Bad Advice’ p19 'The Australian' 7/4/06) takes advantage of the fact you are time-poor and, despite supposedly representing your interests, slips you into funds and schemes for which he receives huge commissions; at the same time charging you ‘monitoring-fees’ to watch your money go into his bank account!
Simultaneously exposing you to tax-effective schemes so you spend the next decade fighting unwinable legal battles. Unwinable for all except the Lawyers and your immune Advisor.
So you leave Australia to start again with absolutely nothing, after giving the spoils of your most income-rich decade to ‘the professionals’.
As a single wage earner it’s very hard to make it in Australia and one million Australians have voted with their feet.
When the Kiwis started returning home it was time to abandon ship. (Feb 2003)*
*"Net migration remains strong, fuelled by fewer New Zealanders leaving and by more returning home. Twenty five per cent fewer New Zealanders left to live elsewhere last year than in 2001, and the numbers of Kiwis coming home on a permanent or long term basis rose by eight per cent. New Zealand continues to be a very attractive destination for migrants."
- NZ Prime Minister's Statement to Parliament (11/2/03)
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=16000
First published 19th April 2006
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