Let me be clear. When I read that an individual loaded 915 liters of unpaid diesel into a white ute in South Sydney, I did not see a crime, but a middle-class Australian securing a tax-free yield.
Over lunch at Bennelong yesterday, a Treasury official and I discussed Anthony Albanese’s refusal to adjust the capital gains tax discount. The prime minister expects everyday investors to accept shrinking margins. Yet here is a visionary bypassing the taxation office entirely, directly acquiring $2,870 worth of combustible commodities in plastic jerry cans.
The police are calling it theft, which frankly shows a disappointing lack of financial literacy. At $3.14 a liter, holding physical reserves of diesel is outperforming my blue-chip portfolio. If my broker had half this much initiative, I wouldn't have to keep restructuring my family trust.
The only difference between a corporate raider and a man filling stolen drums at a bowser is access to a decent lobbyist.
I have instructed my wealth manager to look into service station arbitrage immediately. If the government will not protect our capital gains, we must find our own liquid assets.