• Berwick Gazette
• Pakenham Gazette

3rd March 2010 02:01:17 AM

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IT’S been a long and hard fight, some even describe it as being taxing on their health, but local members of Taxed Out say it has all been worthwhile.

Gathering on Monday afternoon in Officer, 14 members of Taxed Out breathed a deep sigh of relief after news the State Government’s GAIC tax had been defeated in Parliament.

But they were wary that their fight was not over.

“It’s a feeling of what’s next?” Officer resident John Holtham said.

“The government has already proven that they can’t be trusted and no one knows what to expect next.”

Quick to deflate comments that the proposed GAIC tax was “a joke” from the beginning, Mr Holtham said the way the whole issue was dealt with was hard to believe.

“It was never funny,” he said.

“We were never informed properly and it is probably not over yet.”

Graeme Dodson, from Officer, said the fight was tiring for all involved, but worthwhile.

“It has affected the health of some but in the end we have won this battle,” he said.

Taxed Out spokesman Michael Hosking agreed, saying while he was proud of members for standing up in what they believed in – the fight was far from over.

“No developer is going to buy land without factoring in the tax now,” he said.

“It leaves both residents and developers in limbo.

“It was just a money grab by the government – so much for living in a democracy; it’s more like a dictatorship from the top down.”

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