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9 October 2025
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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.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
This week, I got the news that my mother has dementia. It came shortly after my father received the same diagnosis. This is a meditation on getting old and my regrets in not getting my parents’ affairs in order sooner.
Retirement can be daunting for Australians facing financial uncertainty. Understand your goals, longevity challenges, inflation impacts, market risks, and components of retirement income with these crucial charts.
Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.
Australia's superannuation system faces a 'Rubicon' moment, a turning point where the focus is shifting from accumulation phase to retirement readiness, but unfortunately, many funds are not rising to the challenge.