When the government hits the public service with a budget like the 2014 Hockey budget, the ATO's ability to be effective is curtailed.  

Tax havens are not new it is just that there has been someone with a conscience who decided that they have had enough of legal but unethical funds manipulation and have dropped a mass of information to people who are informing us what the ATO already knows but cannot disclose because of taxation secrecy laws.

Our correspondent, Cox, seems to be unaware that paying tax in Australia is purely voluntary if you read the tax acts or can pay someone to advise you.

Sadly much of the money in Panama and other tax havens are controlled by taxpayers who do not believe that they have to share their wealth to pay for essential public expenditure like hospital, schools, police and enough public servants to ensure it works properly and fairly.

What they don’t want is a royal commission into the banking industry to give an insight into the unethical transactions which disadvantage Australians and the collection of tax revenue.

_Ben Morris, Wollongong

It would seem that Dave Cox (Illawarra Mercury Letters, 13 April 2016) like many other Australians fails to understand the simple economic fact  that things need to be paid for.

Since taking office the current LNP government has cut staff from the ATO and has reduced their ability to prosecute tax evaders and those who bludge off the massive corporate welfare system.

We know there's massive amounts of money being drained from our economy by the super rich either bending the rules or totally ignoring them, in the knowledge that the ATO is powerless to do anything.

If you want to stop people stealing your money then insist that our tax laws be changed so everyone is compelled to pay a fair share and that the ATO is staffed funded and encouraged to go after the thieves.

_Doug Steley, Heyfield

The panama papers leak makes it crystal clear to me that when it comes to paying tax there's one set of rules for the rich and powerful and another set of rules for you and I.

It tells me the vast majority of offshore companies are dodgy, being used to hide assets from tax authorities, thwart investigations and protect criminal behavior. That means you and I miss out on vital funding. The pressure should be put on Malcolm Turnbull to clamp down on tax havens.

_Matty Ryan, Fairy Meadow

Reply to the letter by Ben Morris, "VOTE FOR A FIGHT" Mercury, April 2. 

Serious budget cuts are needed to reduce the deficit of over $400 billion that Labor handed the Coalition after they convincingly won the 2013 election. The point being you either reduce spending and waste and pay off the debt and low taxes.

The alternative is continue to spend borrowed money and drive up the deficit.

Tony Abbott pledged to address the deficit problem and yet the Senate cross benchers refused to accept or negotiate. What about the Labor lie of the $80 billion cuts to health and education? The big myth announced with borrowed money that was never going to appear.

Since the 2014 Hockey budget, Labor, state premiers and the media have campaigned against the cuts, yet premiers accepted $3 billion to help with health and education from the Turnbull government and were silent about the $80 billion cut. 

_Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow