I am tired of hearing from the wealth boulevardiers that Australia’s taxes should be increased and that wealthy people should stop complaining. Comments such as:

I’m just so over rich people who’ve made money complaining about tax rates.

Okay then. Fine. So here is another policy proposal.

A system whereby those wealthy people who don’t think taxes are high enough, are able to make voluntary contributions to the ATO. They should lead by example.

The ATO can provide a certificate for money donated.

In fact, why not have a coupon system, like games at a carnival?

One coupon for every $10 voluntary tax contribution. They can then trade their coupons for an Order of Australia pin, not unlike the way the system currently works for many in the non-OAM category, but more transparent.

• 100K coupons – AM
• 300K coupons – AO
• 500K coupons – AC

The beauty of the coupon system is that it solves several problems at once. The ATO finally gets a marketing arm and the great and good of Australian capitalism get to swap moral hectoring for a certificate, or if really generous, actual hardware, which they can pin to a lapel and gesture at during charity galas. Everyone wins.

And there is real elegance in the design. For those who want the rich to pay more tax, who are themselves presumably rich, can proceed directly to the ATO website, transfer a sum commensurate with their convictions, and emerge clutching an AC by sundown. The coupon counter need not even be staffed. Self-service. Very Silicon Valley. Disruptive, even.

This policy could sit beside the Always Was and Always Will Be Act whereby people who feel that they are living on Aboriginal Land can transfer the land (and the property on top) to any Indigenous person they choose and the Commonwealth will pay the transaction costs and waive any Commonwealth Taxes payable (eg CGT).

The Always Was and Always Will Be Act works on the same honest principle. If you genuinely believe you are living on stolen land, the Commonwealth will not stand between you and restitution. The Act has the additional merit of being entirely opt-in, which means nobody can be accused of coercion. It simply provides a frictionless path from belief to action.

Lead by example. Or, alternatively, lead by silence.

Both are improvements on the present arrangement.