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17 September 2025
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Australia’s corporate tax rate is widely seen as a growth-killing burden. But for most local investors, it’s a mirage - erased by dividend imputation. So why is it still shaping national policy?
With Div. 296 looming, is there a smarter way to tax superannuation? This proposes a fairer, income-linked alternative that respects compounding, ensures predictability, and avoids taxing unrealised capital gains.
Reining in the Government's appetite for spending wouldn't just ease the country's fiscal burden. It would also clear the way for the meaningful tax reforms that are needed to boost Australia's ailing productivity.
At times, income from investment funds may include a component of ‘tax-deferred distributions’. Due to their complexity, these distributions aren't widely understood, so here's an overview of how they actually work.
Lifetime annuities will become a more important tool to manage longevity, but they are the only part of our retirement income system where the benefit is determined by an individual’s sex. It's time to change.
The previous austerity of the Coalition Government has been tossed aside to deal with COVID-19, but at some point, debt will be repaid. Are policies once considered off-the-table now a target?
Some of our readers have said family trusts have little merit because of the tight limits on the amount that can be distributed to children paying low tax rates. But the use of bucket companies drives many of the structures.
Two studies dive into the numbers to argue that Labor's franking policy will hit low income earners the hardest, because a franking credit is a constant 30% of the taxable income.
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.
The investment performance of super funds and other investment managers has historically been measured against pre-tax indices. Once tax is taken into account, the return on investments is quite different.
Each generation believes its economic challenges were uniquely tough - but what does the data say? A closer look reveals a more nuanced, complex story behind the generational hardship debate.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
This goes through the different options including shares, property and business ownership and declares a winner, as well as outlining the mindset needed to earn enough to never have to work again.
Everyone has a theory as to why housing in Australia is so expensive. There are a lot of different factors at play, from skewed migration patterns to banking trends and housing's status as a national obsession.
The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.