....to be fair though, the vast majority of your list, one does not need to purchase.
Most either make you sick and/or poor, and little else.
In the US, it looks like it is cheaper to, if you so choose, to make yourself really fat.
Perhaps the Aussie Govt with it's multitude of taxes is targeting the right sectors ??
Really? Food, clothing & transport are not really optional in modern society.
I have lived in the US for nearly 2 years now and the cost of living is far far cheaper here than in Australia. Let me give some examples:
Pair of Guess Jeans on sale at factory outlet store were
$1.18 bought 2 weeks ago (no not a misprint & yes this was a great buy but, $20 or less would get a pair from any number of designer outlet stores like Clavin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY from all over the country) We pay less for designer clothes here than we do for department store (Target, Big W etc..) clothes that are on sale in Australia. Eg. last designer suit I bought for work was $219....... <--- not some baggy low quality Kmart or Lowes crap.
Petrol - I never pay more than $0.95 /L <--- those savings add up fast!
Car - 25-60% cheaper for same NEW model car offered in Australia. That is significant! Not to mention that used cars can subsequently be had for ridiculously low $ ...
Housing - OK, we all know this is a mixed bag however, looking at median & average prices, they are south of $300K (US govt stats).... compare that to Aust. at around the $450-500K mark. That is a lot of coin right there.....
Food - Milk @ ~$3.00 /gal ---> that is ~$0.80 /L I actually pay ~$2.90 /gal on average. I could go on & on & on... suffice to say food is generally cheaper here including fresh and a la carte from a restaurant.
Books - Random novel pick of Mockingjay from bookstore with online purchase --> US online $10.78 compared to Australia online $18.99. That is 43% less.... This is indicative of our experience here & we buy ~2-3 books per month.
My point is simply this. In the US the comparative cost of living for day to day purchases AND for large significant purchases is cheaper across the board by generally ~25-50% depending on the item. In my experience, pay is comparable for skilled labour and public sector jobs pay more than in Australia by about 10-20%. Unskilled is a different story though, hence the importance placed on education in the US.
When I return to Australia, my cost of living will skyrocket. 25-50% may not seem horrendous but when it is coming out of Disposable income & is for a significant purchase such as a car or large household item, it hurts.
I dispute the claim that the Aust. government taxes are targetting the right sectors. If the products of primary producers, manufacturing, construction & energy are the right targets, then Food, Clothing, Housing & Transportation are now deemed to be non-essential purchases????
I beg to differ.