Treasurer Scott Morrison has outlined his vision for increasing home ownership at a speech to the Urban Development Institute of Australia. The Treasurer acknowledged it’s hard for first home buyers to get into the Australian housing market and suggested a number of barriers to increasing housing supply. The Conversation asked an expert panel to analyse...

Overview Winding back superannuation tax breaks will be an acid test of our political system. Not because our major political parties are at loggerheads, but because they largely agree on both ends and means. If we cannot get reform in this situation, then there is little hope for either budget repair or wider economic reform.

Overview A federal election is an opportunity to take stock of how Australia is doing, where it’s going, and what governments can do about it. This report surveys policy recommendations from seven years of Grattan Institute reports and outlines what the Commonwealth Government should do to improve Australia.

Long overdue changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax would save the Commonwealth Government about $5.3 billion a year. SummaryThe interaction of a fifty per cent capital gains tax discount with negative gearing distorts investment decisions, makes housing markets more volatile and reduces home ownership.

A well- designed GST reform package could support economic growth, make the tax and transfer system more progressive and give governments more budgetary options, according to this report. Summary Extending the goods and services tax to cover many of the categories currently exempt could raise $17 billion a year, while increasing the rate to 15...