The 2018 ‘reforms’ were bad policy. The sooner they are unwound the better.
- Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Australia’s migration debate is typically framed in terms of how much to cut. But there is a smarter way to screen migrants than our current outdated system.
The shift towards universal policies may seem fair, but it’s creating a system that gives to the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
Many older Australians enjoy incomes in their 60s of the average working 40 year-old. Younger people bear the brunt of this support. How did we get here?
Three decades of tax returns show striking patterns. Numbers that end in zero are more likely than other numbers, and more likely to indicate deceit.
Imagine taking money from others when times were bad, and not paying it back when times improved. That’s Western Australia’s approach to the other states.
Tax breaks cost a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean they are unfair. Cutting them will not raise as much as you might think. Here’s why.
Australia’s education system is not doing that well in correcting for the disadvantage students face in the classroom.
Unemployed Australians who accessed their super during COVID stayed on benefits seven weeks longer than similarly-placed recipients who did not.
Women who earn more than their male partners are more likely to suffer domestic violence.
A leading-edge study conducted for the Retirement Incomes Review used Tax Office data to examine what happened to wages after firms paid more super.
For Joe Biden to make good on his promise to heal the nation’s divisions, he will need to address the social disconnection that underlies ‘racialised economics’.
Australia’s population growth is expected to be stagnant over the next two years, due largely to decreased immigration. This won’t lead to a quick economic recovery.
We give the biggest concessions to those least likely to need persuasion to save well.
It would be a mistake to think that just because higher earners face higher tax rates, that’s what they pay. When it comes to income from savings it’s the other way around.
The unintended loophole allows some people to keep their income and cut the tax rate on some of it to 15%.
Having a public playground in your neighbourhood can add value to your property.
The graph says Americans on the highest incomes now face lower tax rates than Americans on low incomes. It’s a consequence of an unusual definition of income.
We’ve tested the claim that overworkers have no choice, and found it wanting.
Six years of Coalition government has had little impact on the tax system. It’s not clear whether a Labor government would be any different.
Australian evidence backs up the governments contention that immigration boosts rather than cuts living standards.
We decided to dig into the statistics and compare the experience of financial stress in Indigenous and non-Indigenous households.
Our findings surprised us.
From the 20th-century process of policy trial and error, the nations that married the strengths of markets and government came out ahead.
Blaming immigration for low wage growth, infrastructure congestion and housing affordability is based on simplistic notions of supply and demand.
Economic arguments against immigration often rest on simplistic arguments of supply and demand. The data show immigration has a negligible effect on wages, employment or hours worked.
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