This paper forms part of the Blueprint Institute's Igniting the Next Boom series, where the Institute proposes tax and fiscal policy reforms to ignite a new era of rapid growth. Australia took a hit through the pandemic, and has rebounded strongly. But a V-shaped recovery won’t be enough. In 2019, Australia's GDP per capita grew just 0.6%, and since 2013, it’s averaged just 0.9%. But during the preceding half-century, it averaged a full 2%.

This discussion paper proposes a straightforward and achievable tax reform—a standard deduction—that would lift billions of dollars worth of dead weight off taxpayers' shoulders every year. Australian policymakers must exploit every opportunity, including this one, to get the economy booming again.