In the 1980s the Australian Personal Income Tax was highly progressive and family payments were universal. The system ranked well in terms of gender equity and female labour supply incentives. During the Howard years the progressivity of the rate scale declined dramatically despite rising inequality in wages, income and wealth, and the individual as the...

An Effective Marginal Tax Rate (EMTR) measures the loss resulting from income taxation combined with the withdrawal of a cash transfer or welfare benefit, applied to earning an extra (marginal) dollar of income. EMTRs are a result of the interaction of tax and welfare systems. Specifically, a high EMTR is a consequence of: - progressive...

Summary This special report provides early information on changes to the tax rules affecting the collection of tax on benefits an employee receives from an employee share scheme. Benefits provided to an employee under a share purchase agreement are “employment income” for income tax purposes.

The volume of Australia’s Income Tax Assessment Act (1936) has grown exponentially since its enactment, due to ad hoc annual amendments over many decades. However, the substantive nature of the Act has changed little over the years. The breadth and extent of the changes that have taken place in the financial sphere, and more broadly...

Reviews OECD data on the relationship between living standards and cuts in company tax rates compared with the provision of better education services. The graphs show the relationship between living standards and other variables that are at the centre of the disputes about the future direction of economic policy; cuts in company tax rates and...