This paper investigates the extent to which certain deductions and tax offsets in the individual tax system are used by tax payers across different income ranges, and the impact these have on potential tax revenue and the equity of this system. Executive summary Personal income tax is the largest component of tax revenue. Hence any...

Australia has witnessed a remarkable shift in public attitudes to public spending and tax over the last two years. We no longer feel overtaxed. We want more spent on public services, especially health and education, and we are willing to pay more tax to enable that. These sentiments were first revealed in the 2014 Per...

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...

Overview: Super tax concessions are increasingly being used by high income earners as a way of minimising their tax. This is not their original purpose. They were designed to encourage people to save for their retirement so they would be more self-reliant and less dependent on taxpayers. 80 per cent of those who are of...