The 48th Parliament has the opportunity to tackle some of Australia’s biggest problems – inequality, poverty, sustainability, health and education challenges.

Tackling these problems will take revenue. Fortunately, there is wide range of opportunities to raise more revenue in Australia, in ways that will also make the Australian community
fairer and safer.

Australia is a low-tax country, raising just 30% in tax revenue as a share of the economy, well below the average of 34.9% across developed countries – a difference worth around
$130bn – let alone the 42.6% in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Countries that raise more tax and spend more on public services tend to have communities that are healthier, happier and have higher incomes. Tax is the price we pay to live in a good society. Currently Australia is underpaying and as a result the country has higher levels of poverty, and insufficient funding for education, healthcare and other services.

Fortunately, significant revenue can be raised relatively easily, and in ways which will make Australia fairer and safer.

By cutting fossil fuel subsidies, ending the gas industry’s free ride, reforming negative gearing and closing tax loopholes for superannuation and luxury utes, Treasury would raise between $12 billion and $63 billion.

• $12 billion could fund 70,000 extra jobs to improve education, health and a host of other public services.
• $63 billion would enable the government to raise support payments above the poverty line and double spending on education and housing.

Not only would these changes be easy to implement, they’d be popular.

And – after all that – Australians would still be paying significantly less tax than taxpayers in equivalent developed countries.

The Australia Institute’s new Discussion Paper, Raising Revenue Right, has five realistic  recommendations for Australia’s 48th Parliament: