Just a few comments about this website and why web standards are important.
The site has been coded using W3 standard Extended Hypertext Mark-Up Language, Cascading Style Sheets and the industry standard Hypertext Pre-processor scripting language. Many websites are produced by people using a code-generating program (e.g., Dreamweaver, FrontPage etc). This method, although sometimes quicker for the smallest sites, invariably results in faulty code with "junk markup" which is difficult to edit and scales very poorly. Usually the "designer" doesn't actually know how to code themselves.
The advantage of an xhtml/css/php combination is that careful attention is applied across all aspects of design.
This website will work on all browsers. It doesn't require a particular browser, or a particular resolution, or a special plug-in. This website will work on all hardware, whether it is a standard desktop, laptop or a PDA. Due to the coding the site loads quickly even on a dialup account.
The website also complies with the World Wide Web Consortium's requirements for accessibility. This means that it is optimised for those who are visual, motor or neurologically impaired in some manner that often makes website access difficult. The use of serif fonts for heading, sans-serif fonts for content, tags on image files (even the animated gif), and consistent layout is part of the commitment to accessibility.
Further, the website is encoded with Unicode, a universal character encoding set which promotes compatiability across hardware, operating systems and applications in character presentation.
The website logo is "Tax Collector" (large version) by Flemish painter Marinus van Reymerswaele. It was painted in 1542 on wood and is, 103.7 x 120 cm. It is currently housed at Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
Much of the content on "Australian Experiences" was derived from Phil Anderson's, "Victoria's Muncipal Rating System", Australian Institute of Urban Studies, Victorian Division, 1996. Adam Smith's recommendations and disinclinations for pubic revenue are derived by a presentation by Nadia Weiner, Director of the Adam Smith Club of N.S.W. Various pages on the definition and effects of taxation have come from, and have been included in, Wikipedia.
