This paper argues that given the current hybrid income-expenditure tax system in Australia (hybrid IT/ET) a wealth tax could make sense as a way of ironing out disparities in the tax treatment of different assets.

This paper argues that an estate tax would make a useful contribution to the government’s tax armoury. The aging of the population means that the tax base is likely to be expanding well into the future. In addition the estate duty is useful because it is levied at a time when the one who accumulated...