Why travel should be a tax deduction

It's tax time once again.

Normally I don't mind my annual visit to accountant Greg (such an accountant name) to have my tax done as I usually get a little bit back.  Though I always enter his office with the slight concern that I might have to pay even more tax.

This was the case a few years ago when some capital gains left me with a nasty surprise to pay.   Judging by his complete lack of reaction, Greg had seen tearful taxpayers before.

And it is about this time each year I feel like my travel really should be classed as a tax-deductable education expense.

A class in Hue, Vietnam, but the kids teach travellers a lesson

After all, is there any better teacher of history, culture, places, geography and human behaviour than travel?   And I'd like to think that travel helps make us all slightly better and more useful global citizens who can look a little further than the back fence.

I'm happily a student of travel with hopefully a long way to go before "graduation".  To prove it, here are 10 sometimes contradictory things I've learnt so far from travel:

1.  Same same, but different
Regardless of whether you're in a village in Cambodia, city in India or hamlet in England, it's pretty amazing how when we get together in groups and communities we tend to do the same things: talk, eat, laugh, play, hope, cry, share and create.

2.  Life's a lottery and it's a matter of geography
Chances are your religion, what you wear, what you eat and even your life expectancy have all been shaped by your geography rather than any conscious decision on your part.  Be grateful for what you have as you could probably be a whole lot worse off.  

3.  There are a lot of us
I'm usually reminded of this fact when I'm boarding a plane to some unusual destination and I've convinced myself I will have the plane to myself as who else would be heading there?   Needless to say, the plane is packed and clearly there are a lot of people in the world.   Visits to some Asian, Indian and European cities also confirm this.

4.  It 'ain't easy being vegetarian
Travelling with a vegetarian friend through Germany (possibly one of the most carnivorous countries) made me realise how difficult it can be to meet different dietary requirements when travelling.  Thankfully I'll eat most things - which is just as well as often you don't have a lot of choice when travelling.

A classroom in rural India

5.  My travel experiences would have been different if I wasn't a white, male Australian  
I've come to realise that being a white male from Australia  has allowed me the freedom to have fairly untroubled travel experiences so far.   I'm reminded that in some destinations, women and people from other countries or ethic backgrounds might not have such a great time or receive the same treatment.

6.  Some people shouldn't travel
At a Moroccan hotel last year, I began talking to a group of Australian and New Zealand travellers.  Surprisingly, not only could they not tell me where they had just been in Morocco or where their next destination was, but they also had no intention of leaving the pool to discover the beautiful town they were currently in.   It begged the question why they left home in the first place.   Cheap beer is less cheap when a European airfare is added in.

Learning new things while travelling

7.  You're nowhere without a map
On one of my first trips overseas I was unexpectedly left in Bangkok for the day without a map.   I had absolutely no idea where I was or what I really saw, though I know there was an Emerald Buddha and Reclining Buddha in there somewhere.  I learnt my lesson.

8.  Small fish, very big ocean
Sometimes I get anxious before going on holidays, feeling I'm leaving others in the lurch or that maybe "everything" will collapse in my absence.  But the world does keep turning and life goes on well after I've boarded the plane.   This reminds us me that we are all small fish in a very big ocean and that very few things in life are worth worrying about.

Mahatma Gandhi, just one of the world's many teachers

9.  No one cares what your food looks like so stop posting pictures on Facebook
This one speaks for itself.

10.  Australia isn't the best place in the world...
... but it isn't the worst either.  People who claim Australia is the best place in the world have usually never left it, or have travelled with tainted perceptions and a hint of arrogance.  Most countries have their positives and their negatives.

What have you learnt from travel?

The single person's Federal Budget wish list

It's Federal Budget time of year again here in Australia.

Like every other year, you can expect the word "family" to be bandied around a lot with phrases like "battling families", "struggling families" etc.

But I know they don't mean my family; mine doesn't count.

They only mean families with a middle-aged couple, two kids and a pair of black SUVs in the driveway with "My Family" stickers on the back.

And this is despite the fact that the majority of Australian households aren't "families" at all, rather singles and couples.   Still, it's political gold to pretend it's 1953 all over again.

As a single, I haven't got anything against families.   I'm certainly not "anti-family" (whatever that means).  In fact, research shows many singles come from families too.

It's just that at Federal Budget time, the Australian child-less single seems to be overlooked.

It's wishful thinking, but here are my five Federal Budget initiatives for the Australian single:

1.  The "Thanks for not being a burden on the system" Bonus
So you didn't use a hospital during the past 12 months?  Maybe you went to the GP once or twice, but didn't use Bulk Billing?   You've stayed in shape and looked after yourself, so here's a bonus for not being a drain on the system.

2.  The Disposable Income Economic Stimulus Reward Scheme
Let's face it - single people are more likely to have disposable income.  We're not paying for young Jordan's braces or Olivia's school camp.  Instead, we're spending our disposable income on ourselves. Some may call it selfish, but I call it stimulating the economy.   After all, where would the entertainment, fashion, health and fitness, travel and other sectors be without the single dollar?
 

3.  The Single Person's Travel Allowance
Great citizens are global citizens.  This allowance helps Australian singles explore the world, soak up new cultures, destinations and ideas, and bring the best of these back to Australia.   Ok.  So this one might face a bit of an uphill battle to pass through Parliament.

4.  The ERNP (Environmental Rebate for Not Procreating)

It's fair to say the risk of the human population dying out is fairly low.  In fact, rampant population growth seems to be killing the place.  Apart from being childless, singles are also probably more likely to live in medium to high-density dwellings, thereby reducing urban sprawl; less likely to have a massive fuel-guzzling car running idle outside schools, child care centres and sports grounds; and are certainly emitting less CO2 gases by not whining about how rewarding / hard it is to have a family these days.  So if you've managed not to have a child during the past financial year, the environment and government says thanks.

5.   The Single Productivity Incentive

As a single person you didn't take time off from work to look after young Tiffany when she got chicken pox or the flu or whatever else was going around child care.  You also didn't take paternity or maternity leave.  And you probably came into work earlier and / or stayed back late (and maybe even did weekend work) because you weren't dropping kids off at school, taking them to the doctor, and because, let's face it, you've got no life to speak of.  You were probably also more likely to do those work trips requiring nights away because... well it's not like there was anyone waiting at home for you, was there?  As an economic unit you're pretty efficient and productive, and this incentive recognises this.

And if all of these great ideas are just too hard to implement, how about just a handwritten note from Treasurer Wayne Swan saying:  "thank you for funding all those things you'll never use or ever be able to access because you will probably die alone in your flat with only the smell of your decomposing body alerting the neighbours"?

It's not too much to ask is it?

NOTE:  If you take this post too seriously, you should be slugged with an extra tax.