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4 September 2026
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Examining how five "tax cuts" stack up against bracket creep. Why offsets and incremental changes may do little to ease rising average tax burdens, compared to structural reform through indexation over time.
The Labor government is talking up tax reform to lift Australia’s ailing economic growth. Before any changes are made, it’s important to know who pays tax, who owns assets, and how much people have in their super for retirement.
Realistically, the Government had to amend the stage 3 tax cuts. The current state of the economy is far different from when the Coalition tabled the tax cuts in 2019, which provided impetus for the changes.
Any policy decision needs to recognise who is affected by a change. It pays to check the data on who pays taxes, who owns assets and who earns the income to ensure an equitable and efficient outcome.
The 2018 Budget features cuts to personal income taxes and changes to retirement income policies. There's plenty of money on infrastructure to boost jobs and ease congestion.
Every day, an expert writes somewhere about the adverse impact of a reduction in franking credits due to a lower company tax rate. This tax rate has no impact on the after-tax returns received by Australian shareholders.
Family trusts will be a battleground at the next election, but for the wealthy the main benefit is the not income splitting with family members. How do family trusts work and how do affluent families use 'bucket companies'?
Major reform of Australia's tax laws hits a hurdle when opposition builds to unpopular policies. We have lost the ability to explain and advocate for change, especially when you look at global comparisons.
In defending how superannuation concessions might favour the wealthy, Treasurer Joe Hockey claimed 50% of all income tax is paid by 10% of the working population. Is that statement supported by the data?
There's an ongoing debate about income inequality and personal income tax. Looking at the numbers, 45% of Australian adults pay no personal income tax, while 1.5% of adults pay 26% of income tax.
For the last few years there has been much talk of a 'cost-of-living' crisis in Australia and of 'falling living standards'. Lately this has flared up again with the pickup in inflation resulting in a renewed fall in real wages.
Fear of running out has become a defining retirement anxiety. Why do some retirees die with substantial wealth while others deplete their nest egg? Evidence suggests the answer is more complicated than we think.
What if Australia’s golden age of dividends is ending? Rather than overhaul your portfolio, it may be worth considering where new capital can work harder. I discuss four income strategies and the trade-offs behind each.
Tax rules have changed, but many investors are still using yesterday’s strategies. Insurance bonds may offer advantages for those seeking greater control, tax efficiency and certainty about their wealth.
What begins as appetite, grows into excess and ultimately ends in spectacle. Millions of investors just discovered this the hard way.
Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.