This initial ACOSS briefing on the 2011-12 Federal Budget outlines key measures announced in the Budget in areas of interest to ACOSS members, to assist members in their work. This briefing does not offer extensive comment on the merit or otherwise of these measures. This paper outlines the measures firstly by providing a general background...

An adversarial game is used to model the amount of influence a firm has over a government regulator, and its equilibrium level of regulation, as a function of firm fundamentals. The effective influence of a firm is identified as comprising both intrinsic and exerted components; where the latter involves distorting regulation via a transfer to...

Australia has a progressive personal income tax schedule with a seemingly simple five rate structure (including a zero rate), but overlaying the statutory tax schedule are more than 40 offsets designed to reduce tax liability for certain taxpayers. These offsets add complexity to the tax system and result in a person's tax liability being determined...

The Government announced its intention to review the operation of the anti-avoidance provisions in the income tax law in the 2009‑10 Budget. "Tax avoidance poses a threat to the integrity of the tax system. It involves the exploitation of structural loopholes in the law for personal gain, which is unfair on honest taxpayers," Mr Shorten...

These reports provide the results of qualitative and quantitative research into community attitudes about superannuation. Issues that have been considered in the research include: • structure and regulation, • contributions, • tax treatment, • rates of return, and • related matters of the superannuation system and its impact on business. The results of the research...