Treasurer Josh Frydenberg claims that two-thirds of people who use negative gearing have a taxable income of less than $80,000 a year.

If the ultimate purpose of public policy is to improve wellbeing, then few areas of public policy contribute as much to the wellbeing of New Zealanders as the tax system.

This inquiry provided an opportunity to explore in detail how different types of taxpayers, particularly individuals and small businesses, currently engage with Australia’s tax system and how they might like to do so in the future. This can help inform the federal government's longer term policy agenda.

This project provides another example of the returns to government from small changes informed by behavioural insights. BETA partnered with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to reduce work-related expense claims by $2.2 million and increase tax paid by $0.9 million with a simple letter sent to tax agents using social comparisons.

This report examines the broad trends within the Commonwealth tax system since 2001–02 and the risks they present. An awareness of these risks allows policy makers to work to ensure the sustainability of the tax system over the medium term.