Everyone is talking about the what of tax reform. The government needs to start dealing with the how and when as well, writes Tim Colebatch.

Australia is set for more than a decade of deficits between 2008 and 2019, but the reality may be even worse than projections, argues this report.

This paper shows that an economic slump can induce a government to invest in fiscal capacity. Large negative income shocks stress the revenue raising capability of narrow tax bases, making an increase in tax base breadth desirable relative to its fixed implementation cost. A broader tax base enables revenue to be raised at lower tax...

This report discusses the outlook for and drivers of Australian Government spending to help inform discussion about the sustainability of spending over the medium term.

The report focusses on movements in the estimated structural budget balance over the past decade and through the 2013-14 budget and forward estimates years.