The event of this year's social calendar...

No, it's not a royal wedding or glamorous awards show where celebrities show up wearing the latest trends from their local butcher. I am talking about the far more exciting, and exclusive, 'Tax Summit 2011'. Wayne Swan is all a flutter, sending out handwritten invites to all of his friends (it's a short list...) and ensuring that the drinks are cold and everything is just perfect. Like all social events, it is a prime opportunity to woo and impress those you fancy which, in the government's case, is the independents and Greens. IT's also a chance to snub those you don't like, with Tony and Joe left all dressed up with no place to go; not that Tony would have gone to the "great big new tax summit". Also like all good social events, nothing meaningful will happen, it will just be a bunch of people sitting around blowing hot air at each other with very little substance.


Wayne Swan writing out party invites to all his peeps...

What is really interesting about the Tax Summit is the areas of discussion which the party-goers will be chatting about. "It's about engaging the community in a fair dinkum discussion about where we go into the future," Wayne Swan has stated. The Treasurer has also claimed that at this talk-fest of his "...will reflect the challenges which many businesses face [in the current economic climate]". So it seems strange that not only has the guest list been stacked so as only to invite those who will smile and nod politely, but also that the conversation topics have been so heavily vetted. So what will the guests be talking about?

The Carbon Tax, arguably one of the biggest economic reforms in our history? Oh no, there won't be time for that!

The Mineral Resource Rent Tax? Shhh! Don't mention that, Wayne is hoping everyone had forgotten about it...

How about changes to the GST? For God's sake don't mention the GST! You don't discuss that in polite company!

Negative gearing? Nope.

Congestion tax? Wayne is more than happy to talk about it, but he'll leave it to the states to implement because he is like super busy at that moment, you know, with stuff...

So, if Swan has no intention of discussing the raft of major tax cons he and the federal government are trying to unfairly foist on the Australian people, then what is it that he wants to talk about? If this summit is important enough to waste a large chunk of tax-payer dollars on, then what serious tax reform discussions are going to take place? Well here is a sneak peak at the big ticket item: changes to alcohol taxes to stamp out cheap wine...


While Tony Abbott wasn't invited to the Summit, he did bake a cake to send...

Something tells me that if the Treasurer leads with that one, his much maligned tax party will come to a screaming halt. Just like K-Rudd's big '2020 Summit', the 'Tax Summit 2011' is going to cost us a lot of money just so Wayne and Co. can sit around and have a nice party on the public's dollar. And like the 2020 party, I have a feeling it is going to fail miserably...

...but that's alright, it's Wayne's party and he'll cry if he wants to...