Revisiting the GST share of revenue among the states could make a big contribution towards repairing the federal budget.
- Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Tasmania
The treasurer promised a “confronting” economic statement, but it held out hope of only a short spike in inflation and a recovery in real wages.
The independent review of the Reserve Bank should be headed by someone from outside the country say 12 leading economists in an open letter to the treasurer.
Inflation, a slowdown in China and recessions in the US and elsewhere are big risks. Labor’s mandate is limited. It needs to build the case for an expanded one now.
Small businesses are less productive, less innovative and pay staff less than big ones, and even before the pandemic they were shedding jobs.
Threats over the bank’s decisions about lending to coal miners call into question the government’s commitment to free enterprise.
Tasmania gets more of its revenue from “bad taxes” than any state or territory other than Victoria, and less from “good taxes” than anywhere other than Queensland.
They need the rest of the world less than they have in decades, and are in firm control of their population.
The promised budget surplus depends on everything going right, and much more income tax says the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann said corporate tax cuts in the US had led to ‘stronger investment, stronger growth, a lower unemployment rate and higher wages’. Let’s take a closer look.
The government says personal income tax cuts are needed to provide relief from low wages and high cost of living, but will tax cuts make up for that?
The Australian Hotels Association of South Australia claims poker machine reforms proposed by Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party would wipe out ‘many of the 26,000’ jobs in the hotel industry. Is that right?
The Tasmanian Liberal party is promoting gaming industry estimates that ‘around 5,000 jobs’ would be at risk if poker machines were removed from pubs and clubs in Tasmania. Are the estimates correct?
The improvements in the government’s debt position are entirely because of revisions in economic assumptions, not fantastic fiscal management.
Treasurer Scott Morrison recently asserted that an increase in profits is a prerequisite for wages growth. But is his position supported by data?
We shouldn’t be in the business of awarding ourselves prizes to which we’re not entitled.
The political legacy of Abbott’s broken promises contributed to Malcolm Turnbull’s near-death experience at last July’s federal election. ThisTurnbull government budget will be largely about burying the legacy of its predecessor.
Polled economists say another independent body wouldn’t necessairly do a better job of economic forecasting for the budget than Treasury.
The government shouldn’t cave to WA’s calls for a change to the way GST is divvied out. The current system has served Australia well.
The government’s unwillingness to consider changing the tax system to fix housing affordability, makes it more likely that APRA may have to become even more prescriptive with its lending criteria.
Based on evidence, policies which seek to encourage job creation and innovation via a tax cut should preference large or new businesses, rather than small ones.
Some might say that financial markets over-reacted to the Brexit vote and the market reaction to the US election is the same. But Brexit won’t happen till 2019, a Trump victory has already happened.
A Trump victory in the US presidential election is unlikely, but then again, so was Brexit. If he does get elected, there may be severe economic and financial consequences.
Federal treasurer Scott Morrison’s diagnosis of the risks and challenges confronting the Australian economy is hard to fault. But tackling those problems will require flexibility from the government.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s first major post-election economic speech revealed not a hint of awareness that large swathes of the electorate had been unpersuaded by his major policy programs.
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