Victims of fires to be taxed

News.com.au | Victims of fires to be taxed (09-02-2005):

"With the 127 bushfire-affected families each receiving between $10,000
and $20,000 in state and federal grants, Mr Monterola said his advice
showed about 250 taxpayers would be hit by income tax bills. He
estimated the average bill would be between $6000 and $9000, depending on the farmer's income bracket."

Bureaucracy has an uncanny way of rubbing salt into the wounds. These people have had their homes, farms and countryside burnt and destroyed. Some have lost family and friends. That they are walking and talking is a tribute to their resourcefulness and courage. The state government moved quickly to get financial aid. The federal government picked it up later after a bit of prompting. This was a massive fire. The people are traumatised. They work hard on the land and that they are prepared to stay and rebuild deserves credit and support. To put them through the tax hoop as an added trick to enable them access to grants to rebuild properties which supply US with the resources we need to live comfortably in the city is just mean. Mean. To give them money and then make them fill out forms to make legitimate claims to offset the taxes is a very callous thing to require. Every claim will be a stab to the heart. They are not performing animals. They have fences to build, live stock to re establish, fields to prepare and plant and houses to build and repair. It's black and burnt and they have seen too much ,suffered too much and put up with too much. It's Valentine's Day on Monday. Have a heart.