The debate about the Turnbull Government’s income tax cuts is being sidetracked by misconceptions.

This analysis continues the Australia Institute's analysis of the effects of the Turnbull Government’s income tax plans, by looking at the distribution of the benefits by federal electorate.

We study optimal income tax progressivity in an environment where individuals are exposed to idiosyncratic income and health risks over the lifecycle. Our results, based on a calibration for the US economy, indicate that the presence of health risk combined with incomplete insurance markets amplifies the social insurance role of progressive income taxes. The government...

The Turnbull Government’s proposed personal income tax cuts are the largest ever proposed in a federal budget. As is outlined in this submission, the substantial reduction in revenue is not obviously consistent with the government’s medium-term fiscal strategy.

The current debate over personal tax cuts and the Budget echoes a similar debate a decade ago, when just before the 2007 federal election, the Coalition government promised $31 billion of income tax cuts.