[grecy]

> “protecting the Australian aviation industry”

Australia has a very questionable history of this.

For decades imported cars have been hit with heavy import taxes to "protect the Australian Automobile manufacturing industry".

Now that no automobiles are manufactured in Australia (Ford and GM closed their plants), the heavy taxes have not gone away!

There is also the super-controversial "luxury car tax" of 33% on vehicles over approx. $80k. Of course there is no luxury boat tax, luxury plane tax, luxury car tax, luxury watch tax or anything else of the sort.

[photonbeam]

Re: luxury car tax

Tall poppy syndrome, but as legislation. It’s culturally ingrained

[grecy]

Surely a luxury yacht tax and luxury plane tax would do a better job of that.

[EdwardDiego]

Yeah, as a Kiwi, blew me away how your Japanese imports are always $2k - $3k more expensive than ours, ostensibly to protect Holden, which was owned by an American company!