Budget Policy

9 April 2019

Potentially unaffordable, and it still won’t fix bracket creep. The Coalition’s $300 billion tax plan assessed

High-income earners, those in the top fifth of the income distribution, would pay a smaller share of tax under the Coalition’s plan: 65 per cent in 2029-30 compared to 68 per cent today.

5 April 2019

This government is already on course back to deficit

The ultimate fiscal legacy of the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government could well be a budget heading back to structural deficit towards the end of the forward estimates. If only they could have been happy with just average.

1 April 2019

Expect a budget that breaks the intergenerational bargain

Working-age Australians, as a group, pay more in taxes than they receive in either benefits or spending. These contributions support older Australians who take a lot more out in spending and pension payments than they contribute in taxes. Today’s working-age Australians expect the generation after them to support them in the same way as they age. But this longstanding intergenerational bargain is under threat.

27 March 2019

Australia’s long-standing generational bargain is under threat

Let’s hope Australians can discuss generational fairness without it descending into generational warfare. Because none of us would want our legacy to be mortgaging our children’s environment and their economic future.

27 March 2019

Treasurer should hold off on budget victory lap

Let’s see whether Josh Frydenberg banks or blows recent windfalls. Because any claim to superior fiscal management that relies on the promise of future fiscal rectitude and economic good luck is on shaky ground indeed.

9 February 2019

Negative gearing changes will affect us all, mostly for the better

For Australians who aspire to a better budget bottom line, a more stable housing market and better opportunities for first home buyers, federal Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax have plenty to find favour.

19 December 2018

Taxing inheritances might be unpopular, but it’s fair

Estate taxes are worth serious consideration. With society-shaping wealth transfers expected to grow over the next two decades, the time to have the conversation is now.

17 December 2018

More mirage than good management, MYEFO fails to hit its own targets

The Morrison government wants next year’s election to be about economic management. So understandably, it’s using the improved bottom line in the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) to talk up its economic credentials. But the numbers in MYEFO show it has failed to hit many of its own targets.

22 November 2018

The implications of removing refundable franking credits

Federal Labor’s plan to remove refunds for excess franking credits is a fair way to help improve the budget and wind back the growing intergenerational transfers in Australia’s tax system. But there is a better way.

26 September 2018

Scott Morrison should look to Queensland to improve voter trust

It’s no secret that Australians are fed up with our politicians. There’s a creeping feeling – vented on talkback radio and evident in polls – that people in government aren’t acting for us, but for themselves and their mates. New Prime Minister Scott Morrison is on a mission to change this. He says he’s on our side.