The Tasmanian Government’s announcement, in the first week of March 2022, of forthcoming changes to the land tax scale have prompted a raft of commentary, much of it not very well informed, on the effects of land tax and the likely impact of the changes proposed by the Government on rents. This note explains why […]

Article published in the December 2021 edition of Agenda, the journal of the Australian National University’s School of Economics.

Article published in the Australian Financial Review on 16th September 2021, examining the way in which Western Australia’s budget surpluses are being bolstered at the expense of the rest of Australia by the ‘corrupt bargain’ over shares of revenue from the GST imposed by the Morrison Government three years ago

The 2021 IGR, released some six weeks ago, suggests that Australia will be running budget deficits for the next 40 years. But that’s only because of the quite arbitrary assumption that tax collections will remain ‘capped’ at 23.9% of GDP, forever more. There’s no reason why that should be the case.

Saul talks to National Radio News’ political reporter Amanda Copp about tax policy and housing, following the Australian Labor Party’s decision to abandon the policies it took to the past two elections (in 2016 and 2019) of abolishing ‘negative gearing’ (the long-standing provision in Australia’s tax code whereby investors in property, or other assets, can […]

Saul talks to Sky News Australia‘s Laura Jayes about Victorian Government property tax proposals

Saul’s views on the Victorian Government’s proposals (which also include increases in land tax and a 10% increase in fines – making Victoria’s police even more an arm of the State Revenue Office than they already are) – are also in the Melbourne Herald-Sun and the Australian Financial Review

Saul talks to Melbourne Radio 3AW’s Ross Stevenson and Russell Howcroft about Victoria’s plan to increase stamp duties on property transfers