Tax
The aim of the research at the CIS is to work towards an efficient and predictable tax system that does not impose too great a burden on the economy.
Publications
Too Little; Too Late: Personal Income Tax Reform in Australia
Robert Carling, Matthew O’Donnell
13 June 2018 | PP5
The main thrust of the Government’s proposed personal income tax changes announced in the 2018-19 Budget is welcome, but they could be improved to better promote economic efficiency. Also, implementation should be brought forward, with the earlier revenue losses offset by tighter expenditure management. Specifically,…
Cutting income tax: can we add the bacon to the hamburger and milkshake tax cuts?
Robert Carling
15 April 2018 | PP1
The key problems in personal income tax are excessive marginal rates and an increasing overall average tax rate as bracket creep goes unchecked. Political objectives aside, there is a sound economic case for tax cuts. The government should give priority to instituting a system of…
Red tape and Australia’s economic malaise
Michael Potter
07 February 2018 | OP164
Australia is in a period of economic malaise. GDP per person has been growing slowly ever since the GFC. Australia’s performance is mediocre compared to other developed countries; by contrast, we outperformed before the GFC. Household incomes and wages are also growing at slow rates,…
From Reform to Retreat: 30 Years of Australian Fiscal Policy
Robert Carling
10 December 2017 | OP161
Australia entered an era of economic reform in the mid-1980s as policymakers resolved to liberalise the country’s economy and strengthen its public finances. Fiscal reform, which is the subject of this paper, was an important part of the process. These reforms included management of the…
UBI – Universal Basic Income is an Unbelievably Bad Idea
Simon Cowan
05 November 2017 | RR32
The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), paid by the government to its citizens with few restrictions, has been around for a long time. One of the main justifications for introducing a UBI is the impending changes to the labour market as a result…
Media & Commentary
Smaller states should demand more... but not from the GST
Simon Cowan
07 July 2018 | The Sydney Morning Herald
It’s has been billed as the biggest change to the GST in two decades. The federal government has moved quickly to resolve the very low GST relativity of Western Australia…
Bill Shorten keeps tax system in a state of half-pregnancy
Robert Carling
27 June 2018 | The Australian Financial Review
Labor’s long-running fairness-and-equality show needs to be continually refreshed with new acts, and its just raised the curtain on the latest one. Labor’s failure to stop the Coalition’s six-year personal income tax…
Ignorance a road block to reform
Simon Cowan
25 June 2018 | The Australian
The government has been successful in passing its complete tax package, which will reduce tax paid at almost every income level over the course of the next seven years. It…
Tax cuts on the nose: Millennials
Charles Jacobs
22 June 2018 | Ideas@TheCentre
As the tax cuts were passed in Parliament, new CIS research suggests that they may not have the backing of one of Australia’s largest group of voters. Indeed, in new…
Tax cuts: hamburger, milkshake or three course meal?
Robert Carling
15 June 2018 | Ideas@TheCentre
Anyone following the entrails of the post-budget income tax cut debate would be aware that the government has steadfastly refused to release estimates of annual revenue impacts beyond the forward…