Companies that embrace tax disclosures and remind the public they are contributing to the economy could actually benefit from greater transparency.
Then NSW treasurer and now Premier Mike Baird, shaking hands in 2013 to mark the handover of Port Botany under a 99-year lease – the same period as has been proposed to lease state electricity assets to private operators.
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Privatising public assets is like a tradesperson selling her or his tools when facing a temporary income shortfall. Much better to borrow at low interest rates and productively invest those funds.
Allowing people to raid their superannuation early is likely to have significant unintended consequences.
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Australia’s retirement income system is unsustainable, and there seems little political appetite to tackle the big issues.
The Australian community has been involved in many discussions about tax in the past, and now it’s time for some new decisions.
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The Henry Tax Review identified 125 taxes within Australia levied by all levels of government. Of those 125 taxes, just 10 taxes raised 90% of all tax revenue. The company tax is the second largest source…
We all want governments to do more with our taxes, so should we be willing to pay more?
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The same deep forces that were behind the election result in Queensland are being played out in Canberra. The Australian people want, although most won’t admit it, higher taxes – either now or in the future…
Soaring sales mean Apple is enjoying bumper profits.
Pasu Au Yeung
Apple Inc, the US-based tech giant, has received plenty of plaudits for producing a record US$18 billion in profit from one quarter’s global sales of US$75 billion. A look at the company’s financial statements…
The Abbott government is preparing to give Australians a tax cut, but Treasurer Joe Hockey seems confused as to just how much tax we pay.
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Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey claims taxpayers are already paying 50 cents in the dollar of their income to the government and that bracket creep will push the average income earner into the second top…
Shifting the tax burden to wage earners in the middle is a costly and outdated approach to tax reform.
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Many developed economies have experienced a significant increase in inequality in recent decades. Survey data for Australia show that the share of the top 10% of the income distribution, and more markedly…
Australia’s GST is considered a regressive tax, so the idea of extending it to fresh food is considered unfair. A more detailed analysis reveals it’s not that simple.
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With the federal government’s review of taxation about to get underway, many are expecting Australia’s Goods and Services Tax to be up for change. In this GST series we take a closer look at the evidence…
Closing the thousands of loopholes that riddle the US tax code is a rare area of bipartisan agreement in Congress. So why is it so hard to end them?
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The thousands of tax loopholes that litter the corporate tax code in the United States are frequent targets of criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Outgoing Republican Senator Tom Coburn released…
In the dark? Ignoring revenue has stymied Australia’s budget debate.
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The missing element in this week’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook, and more broadly, in current government policy, stares Australians in the face. Revenue needs to be increased. Increasing taxes…
To prevent future pain, the government can’t put off tough decisions on tax.
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The government’s recent budget outlook (MYEFO) confirmed that the Australian government budget is rotten at the core. The government is hopelessly living beyond its means, with expenditure greater than…
The Financial System Inquiry says the purpose of superannuation is to provide a retirement income that can substitute or supplement the age pension.
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David Murray’s Financial System Inquiry may call for the removal of superannuation tax breaks but the government’s tax discussion paper, due to be released next week, is unlikely to advocate similar changes…
Australia’s children and grandchildren will not enjoy the fruits of the country’s prosperity as much as their parents.
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Having enjoyed continuously increasing prosperity since the Second World War, Australians have come to expect that each generation will live a better life than the last. But this steady progress may be…
Talk of a tax crackdown has Joe Hockey smiling.
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Joe Hockey has hinted he may introduce a “Google tax” as a new weapon to tackle profit shifting by multinational enterprises. The Treasurer’s suggestion is not only political as a counter to aggressive…