South Africa’s left wing trade unions may have found an unlikely ally in their objection to the proposed VAT hike. The OECD says there are other options South Africa could consider to raise revenue.
The penny drops? A fight over UN tax oversight was overblown.
Peter-Ashley Jackson
Australia doesn’t have many of the employment problems still troubling OECD countries, but structural unemployment is one.
Australian aid can make a difference to the lives of millions – but there are few votes and little media interest in it, so it’s an easy target for budget cuts.
John Bransby/Department of Foreign Affairs
The arrival of Netflix in Australia has brought into sharp relief the GST base erosion problem caused by global digital commerce. Along with the non-taxation of low-value imported goods, the absence of…
What’s holding girls back at science?
Science class via bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock
As our definitions of what intelligence is change, it might become possible to teach it.
To help Australia meet its G20 commitments, infrastructure projects like Sydney’s WestConnex require a more stringent and transparent cost-benefit analysis.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The OECD’s Going for Growth report released this week is a good reminder of why Tony Abbott wants to be remembered as “the infrastructure Prime Minister”. The OECD argues addressing infrastructure service…
Wiping the slate clean won’t always help.
Chalkboard via Lonni/Shutterstock
For most governments, it’s their platform of education reforms that is politically one of the hardest programmes to push through. Yet push it through they do, in what has become a constant effort by politicians…
Education reforms in the spotlight.
Students in class via Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Only a tenth of education reforms carried out around the world since 2008 have been analysed by governments for the impact they have on children’s education. A new report by the Organisation for Economic…
To prevent future pain, the government can’t put off tough decisions on tax.
Lukas Coch/AAP
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…
Australia has the second-highest number of immigrants – in relative terms – among OECD countries, according to a new report.
AAP/Dan Peled
Immigration is a political hot potato. On the day the OECD published its latest annual survey of global migration, Swiss voters rejected a referendum to reduce annual migration numbers. A few days earlier…
All bark no bite? Green shoots of growth hide risks as well as opportunities.
Sharon Mollerus
Not too long ago, cynics were wondering if David Cameron’s fears over the global economy were a ploy to shift blame for any flaws in the UK’s performance as we near the May 2015 general election. However…
Pressure is building ahead of the Brisbane G20 Leaders’ Summit for action on tax avoidance by multinationals.
Andrew Sutherland/Flickr
Tax avoidance by multinational enterprises is not new. But the current level of political will and public outcry on the issue is uncommon in the history of taxation. The upcoming G20 meeting in Brisbane…
Treasurer Joe Hockey plans to reignite the economic reform debate early next year, but will he tackle the bigger-picture changes many economists have called for?
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
In November 1990, then treasurer Paul Keating announced that Australia was in recession – and that it was “the recession we had to have”. Today, there are growing calls for serious, structural economic…
Despite enormous economic growth over the past 200 years, developed and developing countries alike are failing to tackle crime and environmental problems, a major report from the OECD has concluded. The…
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has proposed a plan to stop companies from avoiding billions of dollars in taxes. As we know from the scandals surrounding Amazon, Starbucks, Vodafone…
MPs call for new campaign on literacy and numeracy.
jjpacres
With England once again in the spotlight for having poor adult skills, it’s timely that we have a new report from MPs calling for a campaign to fix the problem. But while there is lots of evidence out…
Tertiary education has great benefits for the individuals, and also for society.
Shutterstock
Tertiary education graduates across the OECD earn on average 70% more than the non-tertiary educated, meaning despite rising costs of higher education in Australia the investment is still worthwhile. The…