The Australia Institute Policy Brief outlines: A tax on financial transactions, known as a “Tobin” tax, could protect superannuation, investors, and improve the operation of Australia’s capital markets and provide a source of tax revenue of over $1 billion per year. Tobin taxes or some form of financial transaction tax are in effect in over

The new report from The Australia Institute, Population Growth in Australia, reveals: ·         Population growth rate has increased above historic trends, largely due to immigration. ·         The ABS predicts population will be around 40 million in 2061 and up to 70 million by 2101. ·         Almost all of these people will live in major cities.

Submission to Senate Inquiries on the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014 The debate about how high fees could go under deregulation has largely missed a more important question. When students pay more, what will they be paying for? If the HELP system is a way to pay for a service, shouldn’t higher HELP

This inquiry has been established to examine the so called “Asset Recycling Program”. In 2013 state, territory and federal treasurers agreed to the program, under which the states would receive incentives from the federal government to privatise assets in order to promote the building of new infrastructure projects. The asset recycling program will cost the

The Senate referred an inquiry into corporate tax avoidance to the Senate Economic References Committee. The Australia Institute submitted a submission to the inquiry focusing, in particular, on non-arms length licensing royalties between related parties. This submission does not address the whole field of tax avoidance. 

The Coalition Government’s proposed amendments to the GST have been attacked for disproportionately impacting low-income households. But the GST doesn’t have to be so regressive. By extending the tax to include private health insurance and private education, the government can boost revenue, broaden the tax base, and do so in a way that does not

There were 30,775 prisoners in Australia at the end of June 2013 – an increase of five per cent on the 2012 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Almost six out of ten (58 per cent) prisoners had previously served a sentence as an adult. The cost of housing a prisoner in

Australia has some of the best conditions in the world for producing solar energy, and new research suggests it is also the nation’s preferred future energy option. This paper considers various advantages and disadvantages of harnessing energy from the sun.  It finds the health and environmental impacts of solar to be minimal in comparison to

Wind power is one of the least greenhouse gas intensive energy sources available and Australia has some of the best wind resources in the world. With the potential to produce up to 40 per cent of Australia’s energy need, wind power presents a great opportunity for reducing our national greenhouse gas emissions and heavy reliance

Successive governments have made large changes in taxation and spending measures that have disproportionately affected women. Men have benefitted most from tax cuts while the cuts to services have primarily impacted on women – a double disadvantage. Before the Global Financial Crisis, income tax cuts were a key feature of fiscal policy for successive Federal

Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard described work/life balance as a “BBQ-stopper” in 2001. Since then, the term “work/life balance” has been part of the Australian lexicon, but just how well are Australians achieving it? National Go Home on Time Day was launched by The Australia Institute in 2009 as a light-hearted way to

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the extent of income inequality in Australia asked The Australia Institute for some background briefing on how the role of dividend imputation in Australia was relevant to the committee’s deliberations. This brief provides some supplementary information on dividend imputation and franking credits.

Native vegetation and regulations relating to its management have a minimal economic effect on agriculture in New South Wales (NSW). The state produces between $10 and $16 billion in agricultural output per year, dependent largely on rainfall and commodity prices. When rainfall is good and commodity prices are high, output is high. Less rainfall and

At first sight child labour may not appear to be a material issue for Australian companies and investors: Australia has labour laws that prescribe the minimum school-leaving and employment age. Australia also has a rich tradition in worker representation and a trade union movement active in advancing labour rights. However Australia is not an island

The Australian government is currently willing to boost the retirement incomes of wealthy Australians by providing low cost ‘reverse mortgages’ through Centrelink. The Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) allows eligible Australians to receive payments equivalent to the full age pension paid into their bank account on a fortnightly basis, borrowed from the government and secured against

Property crime in Australia declined by more than half between 2001 and 2011 – affecting 2.9 per cent of households in 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Although the proportion of victims has been falling steadily, recovery from these incidents remains an important policy issue for those unfortunate Australians who fall prey to

Construction is an important industry in Australia, with sales accounting for $327 billion or some 21 per cent of GDP and its contribution to value added being 7.6 per cent of GDP. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data allow us to examine and estimate the productivity magnitudes involved in this industry and its components; building

The Palmer United Party today announced its intention to block a number of governmentsavings measures. This paper provides an overview of the distribution of those measures.

Inequality between those with the most and those with the least is rising in Australia. Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but there are many people in our society who are falling behind. The nature and extent of inequality is the choice of policy makers. We have the capacity to either reduce

In May The Australia Institute conducted a survey of 1,100 people to determine people’s attitude to their bank funding coal port projects on the Great Barrier Reef. Following the Australian Government’s approval of several new coal ports in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, survey respondents were asked about the likelihood of changing from

In 2013 The Australia Institute released Trouble with childcare, which analysed the level of difficulties reported by families regarding the affordability of; access to; and quality of early childhood education and care services. The paper includes data and a number of findings relevant to the Inquiry into the delivery of quality and affordable early childhood

State governments are more usually associated with the provision of health, education and law enforcement than industry assistance. So it might surprise taxpayers to learn that state government assistance for the mineral and fossil fuel industries consumes significant amounts of their money. Each state provides millions of dollars’ worth of assistance to mining industries every

This paper is written in partnership with Australia21. Australia has a long and proud tradition of equality, but in recent decades the benefits of strong economic growth have flowed disproportionately to the rich. In the wake of a declining resources boom, there is a growing gulf between those in the top range and those in the lower ranges of wealth

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on the Tax Laws Amendment (Temporary Budget Repair Levy) Bill 2014 and related bills. This levy has the effect of increasing the marginal tax rate from 45 to 47 per cent on incomes over $180,000. Inclusive of the Medicare Levy and the DisabilityCare

The Australia Institute recently made a submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee on the Trade and Foreign Investment (Protecting the Public Interest) Act 2014 which seeks to protect Australian laws by banning investor-state dispute settlement provisions. This submission looks not only at ISDS but also other elements of trade agreements which impact

The Australia Institute has made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications, References Committee Inquiry into environmental offsets. We argue that while offsets are often imperfect and need to be well managed, they have a place in environmental management. Our submission relates to the economics of environmental offsets and our experience

Governments are not like businesses. They provide services because the citizens demand them, not because delivering them is profitable. They collect taxes from citizens, not charge prices from customers. While a business has a legal responsibility to maximise the dividends it pays its shareholders, it makes no sense for a government to generate a surplus

The Australia Institute has made a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment inquiry, Streamlining environmental regulation, ‘green tape’, and one stop shops. Our submission draws on earlier TAI research conducted jointly with the Minerals Council of Australia, which found that there is considerable room for improvement in environmental regulation.  A

As Australia’s population ages, government policies that assist retirement will become even more essential. Superannuation tax concessions and the age pension are the two key government policies that assist the ageing, but they are becoming increasingly expensive. Increasing costs have prompted the Treasurer, Mr Joe Hockey to suggest the pension age be increased to 70.

The Australia Institute has published a number of papers on the finance industry. This submission examines various aspects of the financial services industry including banking, superannuation, cooperatives, the budget and consumer issues.