The centrepiece of the budget is an enormous income tax cut over seven years. This is unusual because the budget papers only show the impacts of policy changes over four years. What is also unusual is that the big parts of the tax cuts start in the fifth year, just outside the budget’s forward estimates

Public sector austerity has become a “policy fad” in Australia, at all levels of government. Its hallmarks are unnecessary public sector wage caps, outsourcing, downsizing, privatisation and the imposition of so-called “efficiency dividends” which allegedly drive productivity growth but in reality cut spending and reduce the quality of public services. These policies of austerity are

Lock the Gate asked The Australia Institute for assistance in estimating the potential employment impacts of increased mine rehabilitation in Queensland. This relates to the Mineral and Energy Resources (Financial Provisioning) Bill currently before the Queensland Parliament. Lock the Gate hope this bill, if passed and implemented, will reduce the mine rehabilitation ‘deficit’ in Queensland:

For at least five years now, Australia’s labour market has demonstrated signs of a structural shift that has undermined traditional patterns of wage determination, and eroded the quality and security of work. The economic and social consequences of this sea change in the world of work are severe and far-reaching: flat real wages (the worst

Promotion of large-scale irrigation in the West Kimberley ignores the lessons of the East Kimberley. Census data shows that despite huge public subsidy in Ord irrigation, the major employers in both regions are health, education and services. Tourism, carbon farming, renewable energy and high-value niche agriculture are also avenues of potential development.Discussion paper

Of the tax cuts in the 2018 Federal Budget, Australian women get half the tax cut of men. New research today by The Australia Institute shows about two thirds of the benefit of the income tax cuts proposed will flow to men, while previous spending cuts have mainly disadvantaged women.

A large post-Budget poll of the division of Longman shows the proposed flat personal tax rates are rated as unfair and company tax cuts remain deeply unpopular among voters due to head to a by-election in the seat of Longman. The Australia Institute commissioned ReachTEL to conduct a survey of 1,277 residents across the federal

The Coalition government’s 2018 budget features a plan to cut personal income taxes for many Australians over the next several years. The government claims it wants to reward lower- and middle-income wage-earners with tax savings.  However, the biggest personal tax reductions would not be experienced until 2022 and beyond (after at least two more federal elections).  And the biggest savings go to those with incomes over $200,000 per year (the richest 3 percent of tax-filers).

A new report from the Australia Institute shows the recently announced 23.9 tax-to-GDP cap is entirely arbitrary, and that a strict tax cap with no policy change will severely limit choices in Government spending. The report shows 23.9 per cent is the average tax-to-GDP ratio between the introduction of the GST and the Global Financial

This report critically responds to the call for fiscal austerity and public sector downsizing, being made in response to the emergence of fiscal deficits in Western Australia (WA). Those deficits arose in the wake of the slowdown in mining activity and corresponding deceleration of employment and economic growth. Many observers immediately conclude that the only

The Community Development Program (CDP) is remote Australia’s Work for the Dole (WFD) and “job assistance” scheme. In place since 2015, it operates across almost 75 percent of Australia’s area, an area with a population of just 304,000 people. Indigenous people are over 80% of the CDP’s 34,000 participants. In other words, CDP participants are

Workers compensation benefits in New South Wales were dramatically reduced in 2012 by a newly-elected state government, citing an alleged financial crisis in the system.  Benefit payments (adjusted for inflation) declined 25 percent in just five years – and some cuts are still being imposed on injured workers and their families (including some losing benefits

A new national poll has asked 1,557 Australians what they think large companies are likely to do with a company tax cut. A majority (61%) of respondents think that increasing worker’s pay would be the very bottom of the list of priorities for large companies receiving a tax cut. 63% think increasing executive pay, and

A large national poll of 1,557 Australians, released today by think tank The Australia Institute, has shown 64% of people want more public spending funded by tax revenue. Just 11% want lower taxes and less public spending. Two-thirds (64%) said they would prefer more public spending, funded by more tax revenue, and less inequality. Only

OECD data shows Australia raises less tax revenue than almost all developed countries [Full report see PDF below] Australia is a low-taxing country. While tax debate in Australia tends to focus on tax rates, with endless comparisons of different countries’ rates of different taxes, these debates ignore the fact that Australia raises far less tax

A new proposal for a portable training system for disability support workers under the NDIS would help to ensure the program achieves its goal of delivering high-quality, individualised services to people with disabilities. The proposal is developed in a new report from the Centre for Future Work. Under the plan, disability support workers would receive

The continuing decline of Australia’s official development assistance Reports suggest that Australia’s aid spending, already at record lows, could be cut further to 0.18% of Australia’s Gross National Income. This would make Australia’s aid contribution proportionately lower than that of Greece. 

The present submission questions the Business Council of Australia’s (BCA) Commitment to increasing investment, employment and wages in the event that the outstanding tax cuts are legislated. We looked specifically at the 10 corporate CEOs who made the commitment on behalf of their companies and found some half of those paid no tax. One wonders what their commitment could possibly mean.

Over the ten years to 2026-27 when the total benefit to companies is estimated at $65 billion, The Australia Institute estimates the big four banks will receive a ‘gift’ of $9,500 million with Commonwealth Bank alone to receive $2,800 million.

Over the last two years the average tax paid by the companies calling for the Senate to pass the tax cuts was 12.35%; half of them paid no tax last year.

The first National Manufacturing Summit was held at Australian Parliament House, Canberra, in June 2017, organised by the Centre for Future Work and the Australia Institute. The event was attended by over 100 delegates from the full range of stakeholders concerned with the future of Australia’s manufacturing sector: including businesses, industry peak bodies, trade unions,

On the 10 year anniversary of Bear Stearns collapse, Wayne Swan, with the GFC+10 project, launches report on executive pay in Australia. GFC+10 is a research program and series of events marking the ten-year anniversary of the Global Financial Crisis. It was launched by then Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the UK, Ed Balls,

ReachTEL conducted a survey of 1,559 residents across the State of Tasmania. The survey was conducted during the night of 5th March 2018. Question: Thinking of housing affordability, which of the following do you think would most help people get into secure housing.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. We expect the Royal Commission to be swamped by submissions that relate to specific examples of misconduct. Our submission tries to take a step back and consider the extent to which

The Australia Institute made a Submission to Review of the rate of return guidelines. As an appendix we have attached a paper, The equity premium in Australia, that should be read in conjunction with this submission. This paper was prepared for the 2017 Conference of the Society of Heterodox Economists at the University of New

Uber’s rapid growth in point-to-point transportation services has become the most potent symbol of the growth of the so-called “gig economy”: where people perform work on an irregular, on-demand basis, paid by the task, and without the stability or security of traditional paid employment. The expansion of this model has raised concerns regarding the erosion of labour standards and entitlements (including minimum wages, paid leave, and superannuation). This report simulates the net hourly incomes received by UberX drivers in six Australian cities, and finds that they almost certainly earn much less than would be required under relevant minimum wage standards.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Senate Inquiry on Corporate Tax Avoidance. The issue of tax avoidance by multinational companies has been a research focus of the Institute for some time. While issues of declining PRRT payments and low company tax payments are becoming widely known, particularly due to

The Tasmanian Liberal Party’s new gambling policy would increase taxes for pubs and clubs by around $10 million per year, while cutting taxes for the state’s casinos by $9 million per year, if the gambling industry’s proposed benchmark is used. Taxpayers would also contribute an extra $1.7 million to counter the costs of problem gambling.

Workers in all parts of the economy are confronting twin threats from accelerating changes in technology and automation, and the ongoing shift toward more precarious and irregular forms of work — including “gigs” on digital platforms.  The transportation sector is widely acknowledged to be one of the most susceptible to both of these trends.  The