Tag Archives: gst

Lessons from John Howard’s GST reform suggest current tax reform process will most likely fail

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Gene Tunny

At a panel discussion on tax reform in Brisbane last night, there were some important insights for the current taxation debate made by former PM John Howard’s economic adviser Peter Crone, Australian newspaper contributing editor Professor Judith Sloan, and Griffith’s … Continue reading →

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Everybody’s talking about tax

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Gene Tunny

With the Commonwealth Government currently undertaking a major tax review, it is timely that there are two events on tax reform being held in Brisbane next month, both supported by the Economic Society of Australia (QLD), of which I’m the … Continue reading →

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Budget briefing – speech notes and slides

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Last Friday afternoon I gave a presentation on the 2015-16 Budget at a private function I organised at the Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane. My slides are available for download (Budget briefing 15 May 15). Budget briefing Good afternoon. Today I’d … Continue reading →

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Time for a Sensible Debate on Broadening the GST Net – Guest post from Michael Willis

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Last week, I spoke with Ben Davis from 4BC about broadening the GST (see 4BC interview on KPMG’s analysis of GST increase for CPA Australia). Our discussion was pretty high-level, and there were many detailed issues we could have discussed … Continue reading →

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4BC interview on KPMG’s analysis of GST increase for CPA Australia

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In response to a new report from CPA Australia (tax-reform-in-australia), the Prime Minister has ruled out changes to the GST, which is a bit of a shame, because changes to the GST should be part of any comprehensive package to … Continue reading →

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GST hike appears very likely, but Commonwealth retreat less so

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has, it seems, given the green light for raising more revenue via the GST in a speech at Tenterfield on Saturday (Sir Henry Parkes Commemorative Dinner): …the Commonwealth could stop funding programmes in areas of state … Continue reading →

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Economic weakness hits Qld retailers

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Gene Tunny

2014 has been a challenging year for Queensland retailers, with retail turnover not growing, and actually declining by around 1% from levels seen earlier in the year (see chart below). I suspect a large part of this is due to … Continue reading →

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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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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 →

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Calls for holistic tax and super reform at BDO Budget Breakfast

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Accounting and professional services firm BDO has prepared an excellent guide to the 2014-15 Federal Budget Time to Pull on the Reins, which notes “The budget measures continue to tinker around the edges of real tax reform.” This was a major … Continue reading →

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