Australian budget

By Leith van Onselen Overseas retailers that sell inexpensive products to Australians recently had to start paying the goods and services tax (GST).

By Leith van Onselen It was dubbed the “biggest public policy scandal in Australian history: the systematic rorting of the vocational education and training system (VET)”.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) has collected an extra $7.7 billion in unpaid tax liabilities since July 2016 over the past two years through its tax avoidance taskforce.

Via the Kouk today: Word has it that the framing of the budget, due to be handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg the day after April fools day (and around 6 weeks before the election), is more problematic than usual.

By Leith van Onselen In late 2017, the Victorian Labor Government completed a shady $6.7 billion deal with Transurban to build the West Gate Tunnel Project, which will see Transurban contribute $4.4 billion towards the cost in exchange motorists paying $15 billion in additional tolls on CityLink until 2045.

From Treasury genius Phil Gaetjens this morning: Treasury Secretary Philip Gaetjens has warned that “falling house prices could also cause consumer spending to be weaker than forecast” and said “care must be take” on mortgage broker reforms.

By Leith van Onselen The Coalition Government has been a curse for Australia’s unemployed.

By Leith van Onselen With just over a month until the NSW Election, it’s raining pork.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Institute’s chief economist, Richard Denniss, has questioned the obsession with cutting taxes, especially for the wealthy, claiming it fails economics 101.

By Leith van Onselen The NSW Government has reportedly rolled-out the second phase of its $1.1 billion Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF), which aims to build another 1,000 homes for primarily older residents.

By Leith van Onselen According to a Newspoll of more than 1500 people, Australian voters are more interested in spending on public services than personal income tax cuts or cutting government debt.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian’s Adam Creighton has written an enlightening article on how the Howard-era tax cuts continue to reap pay dirt for the Baby Boomer generation: Our athletes weren’t the only group to win gold on home soil in 2000.

By Leith van Onselen I have previously argued that Australia is an “anti-humanitarian nation”.

By Leith van Onselen The pressure continues to build on the federal government to writedown the National Broadband Network (NBN), with first chief executive of the NBN arguing that it is inevitable following the “disastrous” rollout of the project.

By Leith van Onselen A conga-line of “experts” have slammed Labor’s $6.6 billion affordable rental scheme, which is aimed at facilitating the construction of 250,000 ‘affordable’ rental dwellings over the next decade.

There is something to pay attention to other than the house price crash.

By Leith van Onselen A day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison insulted Victorians with a piss weak $140m of “congestion busting” funding, Victorian Treasurer Tim “Ponzi” Pallas has declared today’s federal population meeting a “sham” and demanded billions of dollars in funding from the federal government to cope with unrelenting immigration-driven population growth.

By Leith van Onselen Scott Morrison seems to believe he can “bust” Melbourne’s congestion, and bribe his way into office, for the pissy sum of $140 million.

By Leith van Onselen The federal Opposition’s communications spokeswoman, Michelle Rowland, says Labor is considering a writedown of the National Broadband Network (NBN) if it wins the next election.

Via The Guardian today comes Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen: Seven years ago this April, my predecessor as shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, got to his feet in London to declare the “age of entitlement” over.