Tag Archives: australia

US tax guru Dan Mitchell criticises federal debt levy

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Cato Institute economist and former George H.W. Bush adviser Dan Mitchell gave a fantastic presentation tonight to the Queensland branch of the Economic Society on tax avoidance and tax competition. Dan is highly critical of OECD efforts to discourage member … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Costello right to support drop in $1,000 GST-free threshold for online purchases

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m pleased to see former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello backs retailers’ call to lower online GST threshold. There is the obvious level playing field argument that Costello makes. Also, with Federal and State Governments facing big challenges in repairing their … Continue reading →

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Speech to University of the Third Age Redlands on the Australian Economy

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This morning I addressed the University of the Third Age Redlands at the Donald Simpson Centre, Cleveland on the topic of The Australian Economy: Where we’ve come from, where we’re going. My prepared remarks are reproduced below. I varied the … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, IR, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Migration, Mining, Population, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

IR reform should have same priority as tax reform

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Jessica Irvine has a great piece in the News Limited media today on how Tony Abbott must act now to reverse Australia’s economic demise. I agree with her that reforming the tax system is extremely important, but I’m surprised she … Continue reading →

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Tax and Federation White Papers sound promising on GST and stamp duty

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was very pleased to read in the Courier-Mail this morning that: Speculation is mounting the Abbott Government’s white papers on tax and federation reform, due by the end of next year, will include broadening the GST, and encouraging the … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Minimum wage reduces retail jobs available for young people

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Walking around the newly renovated Indooroopilly Shoppingtown in Brisbane’s western suburbs recently, I was struck by how many high-end clothing and jewellery stores there now are in the centre. Partly this would be because high-end shops would be more likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The economics of cheating – Australia’s new leisure class can afford time and resources for affairs

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

In an interesting Brisbane Times article last week (Mistresses, married women and early morning workouts), Katherine Feeney quoted her hairdresser on how common affairs are nowadays: “So many married men – so many wealthy, married men – have mistresses these … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Qld Budget needs to reflect challenging conditions – asset sales good option to cut debt

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The March quarter private capital spending figures released today by the ABS confirm that Treasury was right to make conservative, sub-par growth forecasts in developing the Federal Budget. Queensland Treasury will have to do the same in the Queensland Budget, … Continue reading →

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Consumers and businesses lacking confidence – growth may be even more sub-par

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence figures show a slump in consumer sentiment, possibly caused by last week’s Federal Budget (see MacroBusiness’s story The epic crash in consumer confidence). The ANZ-Roy Morgan media release notes: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell a further … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sub-par growth to continue as mining investment falls and govts restrain spending

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Jonathan Kearns, gave an informative presentation this morning on current economic conditions at an Economic Society of Australia (Qld branch) breakfast at the Brisbane Polo Club. The outlook for at … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment