There are three main approaches to taxing capital income, being the income tax, the expenditure tax – which effectively exempts most capital income - or hybrids such as the rate of return allowance (RRA). This paper considers the theoretical arguments for taxing capital income less than fully, and finds that they need to be qualified...

This report argues that the current arrangements for taxation of asset incomes are flawed and recommends changes. Overview

Presents a proposal for making the pension universal (free of means test) and abolishing the tax concessions. Overview The Abbott Government, as part of its ‘budget repair’ efforts, wanted in the 2014 Budget to increase the pension age to 70 and to restrict pension indexation to the price index, meaning that the pension will fall...

This paper proposes that Australia abolishes tax concessions for superannuation and create a universal (non-means-tested) age pension. Summary As Australia’s population ages, government policies that assist retirement will become even more essential. Superannuation tax concessions and the age pension are the two key government policies that assist the ageing, but they are becoming increasingly expensive...

The Australian tax-transfer system targets those in need and, as a consequence, is prone to poverty traps, where higher private income leads to very little gain in disposable income. This paper examines available evidence on this problem, and looks at both incremental and radical solutions. These traps can severely impact on people’s ability to work...