Up to a quarter of the retirement savings of some Australian workers are being eroded by excessive fees, according to this study. Fees and commissions on superannuation cost the country more than $14 billion per year. The case for a universal default superannuation fund reveals how a shake-up of the superannuation system could lead to...

This paper examines the question of whether Australia should continue to provide tax concessions amounting to well over $10 billion a year and concludes that it should not. The paper includes a number of suggestions for reform, principally: eliminating the 50 per cent discount; incorporating all pre-1986 assets; deemed realisation of assets on death; and...

Australia is experiencing a negative terms of trade shock with the price of exports falling relative to the price of imports. This shock is estimated to be minus 13 per cent in 2009–10 (Treasury 2009), which means that real incomes will either need to fall or, at best, rise less quickly than they otherwise might...