The government shutdown provided a short-term version of what some activists have long wanted: A government small enough so that you could ‘drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.’
Neither Treasurer Josh Frydenberg nor Finance Minister Mathias Cormann would commit to banking the proceeds of improved economic circumstances.
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Real tax reform is about more than cutting taxes to woo voters. It’s about making the system fairer.
Announcements are pouring out in what is already a faux election campaign, with the government at the weekend unveiling nearly $52 million to Headspace for youth mental health.
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The latest national polls come just days out from Saturday’s Wentworth byelection, which will determine whether the Coalition is forced into minority government.
The estimates have been prepared by the independent PBO, at the request of the Greens. The opposition has repeatedly sought annual figures, but the government resisted the demands.
There still isn’t clear research showing company tax cuts will increase employment or wages.
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Comparing companies that receive a tax cut with those that don’t isn’t the right methodology to conclude that tax cuts create more employment or higher wages.
The government is pinning its hopes on making this election all about tax – casting itself as champion of lower tax and Labor as signed up to what Morrison dubs the “high tax club”.
The results of next week’s Newspoll will be eagerly awaited on both sides of the House.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Unemployment rates have risen in Australia while falling in the US. But Australia has experienced a much smaller decline in the proportion of its population who are in work.