Former treasurer Peter Costello contends that tax reform should not be a priority for the federal government. He says it is important to get government spending under control and begin the process of Budget repair as the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Costello notes that government expenditure was not really reined in following the global financial crisis, and spending increased again in response to the pandemic:
From The AFR:
“We’ve had an enormous build-up in spending since the financial crisis in 2009 and never got it under control, and then we increased spending again during COVID,” Mr Costello said in an interview.
