Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

The economic impact of stamp duty, a study by Deloitte Access Economics for the Property Council of Australia released yesterday, finds Australia’s GDP would increase by $3.3 billion and real consumption by $9.7 billion if conveyancing stamp duty was replaced by an...

A GST hike will hurt everyone. Everyone.

The AFR’s economics editor Alan Mitchell has taken a Treasury briefing. He is out this morning offering all sorts of reasons why a broader, higher GST is a brilliant master-stroke that deserves universal applause. He knows, we all know, a Goods and Services Tax is...

Judgement Day arrives for illegal foreign buyers

reposted from Macrobusiness by Leith van Onselen Today is 1 December, which means that the amnesty on illegal foreign buyers of Australian residential real estate is over and the Government’s new penalty regime comes into effect. From today, a foreign national that...

Mike Nahan – the ‘roo in the headlights

Government reform is a grind. It chews up political capital and can destroy public careers in a moment. Change provokes furious responses from vested interests while those who gain are dispersed and ungrateful. WA Treasurer Mike Nahan has solved this problem at a...