In November, The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their views on possible government interventions in the gas industry. The results show strong support for the government to intervene in the gas industry, either by imposing export controls on gas exporters if they do not meet local demand, or by

The new Albanese Labor government has tabled a revised budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, revising revenue and spending forecasts originally contained in the March budget (from the previous Morrison government), and providing new funding to support several new programs and policies.

The present PRRT generates no revenue until the project sponsor gets back all their capital together with the permitted uplift factors. The problem with this approach is that no PRRT revenue is generated for many years which might exceed the life of the project and/or outlast the high returns—the economic rent that should be taxed.

Energy prices spiked worldwide following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting restrictions on Russia’s gas exports. This has in turn increased the value of Australian LNG exports and the profits of LNG companies. We estimate the war related windfall gain to LNG companies in 2021-22 at between $26 billion and $40 billion.

In October, The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians about their views on the stage 3 tax cuts. The same question was asked of 1,409 Australians in September.1 The results show that support for the Labor Government repealing the stage 3 tax cuts has increased since September, while the number of

Australians want more public services that will require more government revenue. This paper summarises Australia’s tax system, its international context, and principles to guide its reform.

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,409 Australians about their views on the stage 3 income tax cuts. The results show that the stage 3 tax cuts are not widely supported. • Respondents were most likely to correctly identify that high income earners would benefit most from stage 3 income

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their attitudes towards a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to support Australian households. The results show that: Two in three (67%) Australians support the introduction of a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have stated repeatedly that their government’s approach to stimulus spending in the wake of the covid crisis was for ‘temporary and targeted’ measures to boost economic activity in the short term without creating ‘structural pressure’ on the budget. For example, in announcing first of three stimulus packages

The Commonwealth Government has tabled its budget for the 2022-23 financial year. As the nation emerges from two years of lockdowns and border closures, with less than two months until a federal election, this budget is focused on getting the government re-elected – rather than addressing the challenges of public health, stagnant wages, and sustainability facing Australia.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is again proposing a cut in company tax rates. There is little that is new: the BCA has been advocating this proposal or a similar one ever since it came into existence in the early 1980s. Currently, the BCA proposes to cut by way of increasing the threshold below

Proposals to halve the beer excise would cost around a billion dollars over the next five years and undermine policies to reduce the abuse of alcohol.

The stage 3 tax cuts will give occupations like CEOs of large corporations, surgeons, and federal politicians a $9,075 a year tax cut. While aged care workers, hairdressers, and café workers will get nothing. When the LMITO ends teachers, nurses and chefs will pay $1080 more in tax.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the consultation process regarding Recommendation 14.1 of the NT Fracking Inquiry, “That prior to the granting of any further production approvals, the Government designs and implements a full cost-recovery system for the regulation of any onshore shale gas industry.”

The stage 3 tax cuts will go mainly to male, high income taxpayers. Half will go to the top 10%, 72 per cent going to the top 20 per cent while the bottom half get only five per cent and the bottom 20 per cent get nothing. Men will get twice as much of the

An electorate analysis of the Federal Government’s current plan to scrap the LMITO (Low and Middle Income Tax Offset) after 2021-22, shows most taxpayers will be worse off when the legislated Stage 3 tax cuts to high income earners comes into effect in 2024-25. Key Findings: Scrapping the LMITO will see 90% of taxpayers pay

The LNG industry portrays itself as essential to WA’s economy, a sentiment echoed by the WA Government. However, LNG industry contributes just 1% of the WA state budget and two thirds of Western Australia’s gas is effectively given away by the Western Australian and Australian Governments with almost no royalties or tax being paid. The

$3.9 billion has been spent by grants programs with ministerial discretion since 2013. $2.8 billion, or 71%, has been allocated to projects in Coalition seats. Funding has clearly favoured marginal seats at the expense of safe Labor seats and, in some cases, safe Coalition seats. In per capita terms, marginal Coalition seats have received $184

The offshore oil and gas industry provides minimal economic benefit to the Australian community. Any benefits are eroded by decommissioning costs falling on governments as the industry attempts to avoid its liabilities. The proposed levy represents an opportunity to limit the costs to the public from the Northern Endeavour disaster, further measures are needed to protect the public interest.

In July 2021 The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 599 South Australians. Respondents were asked which issue they considered to be the most important in state politics right now and a series of questions on a range of political issues. Results show that the three issues most likely to be deemed important by

How we tax has a big impact on our society. The decision of what and how much to tax is important. This paper provides policy makers with five principles to evaluate our taxation choices.

The latest Intergenerational Report (IGR 2021) reveals that the Treasury Department is more pessimistic about the medium-term outlook for productivity growth in 2021 than when they released the 2015 IGR. In fact, the IGR 2021 reveals Treasury currently believes that none of the Coalition Government’s major reforms introduced since 2015 have had any impact on

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,006 Australians about the proposed $500 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Budget incentives to increase investment are expensive, poorly targeted and will do little to improve productivity

As Australia continues to experience the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and looks to economic recovery, the arts and entertainment sector should be a key target for economic support. The arts and entertainment sector employs an even mix of women and men, and employs many more people per million dollars of turnover than industries like

The Commonwealth government has tabled its budget for the 2021-22 financial year. The government is counting on a vigorous and sustained burst of consumer spending by Australian households to drive the post-COVID recovery. Yet the budget itself concedes that the main sources of income to finance expanded consumer spending (namely, wages and income supports) will remain weak or even contract. As shown in the Centre for Future Work’s analysis of the budget, these two dimensions of the budget are fundamentally incompatible.

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Australians about their attitudes towards tax and budget priorities. The results show that most Australians agree with positive statements about taxation, and would prefer additional government spending to tax cuts or deficit reduction. Seven in ten (69%) Australians agree with Oliver Wendell Holmes’

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,004 Australians about their attitudes towards free and universal childcare.

Budget policy has traditionally advantaged men over women. This paper makes seven recommendations on how to improve women’s economic security and use the budget as a tool to reduce gender inequality.