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30 April 2025
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Increasing house prices pose challenges for housing affordability. This investigates the impact of stamp duty on the property market, and how removing the tax could help address several key issues.
To negate bracket creep, the thresholds at which marginal tax rates change should be indexed to inflation. Instead, governments legislate ad-hoc tax cuts to address bracket creep and announce them with great fanfare.
The consumer price index is supposed to reflect the cost of living but no longer does. The ABS publishes other estimates that provide a more accurate picture of our living expenses, and how much they've recently risen.
While the ATO has many ways to watch taxpayer transactions and ensure tax is collected, for some unknown reason, it is legal to select from four different cost base treatments for capital gains tax. It's costing billions.
SMSF trustees want control over their investments and think they can perform better than professional investors. Claims of an impending fall are not supported by the data, and older trustees are investing even more.
Like negative gearing, discounted capital gains tax, especially on residential investment properties, is criticised for giving investors an edge over first-home buyers. A discount is justified but at what level?
A recent Treasury Department statement on tax spending includes franking credits, which may be coincidence or something more ominous. Here's why the Labor Government shouldn't target franked credits to raise revenue.
Fearmongering about Australia’s ageing population has ramped up again recently. If you want a big Australia, then make your argument for it, but don’t pretend that the age structure of the population is the reason why.
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.
In times of market turbulence, it is critical to get the little things right. A good place to start is minimising taxes. Passive ETFs have numerous tax benefits compared to unlisted and actively managed funds.
Dr Rodney Brown's article last week on taxing the rich and inequality led to a lively discussion. As a follow up, we republish Oaktree's Howard Marks on the popular 'beer' example to explain the tax system.
At some point, politicians will debate how to reduce the national debt and implement measures aimed at simultaneously easing budget pressures while reducing the gap between rich and poor. Investors should be ready.
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?
Labor has announced a $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, aimed at slashing the cost of home batteries. The goal is to turbocharge battery uptake, though practical difficulties may prevent that happening.
Are you living your life by default or by design? It strikes me that many people are doing the former and living according to others’ expectations of them, leading to poor choices including with their finances.
Larry Fink is one of the smartest people in the finance industry. In his latest shareholder letter, the Blackrock CEO outlines his quest to become the biggest player in private assets and upend investor portfolios.
Every crisis throws up opportunities. Here are ideas to capitalise on this one, including ‘overbalancing’ your portfolio in stocks, buying heavily discounted LICs, and cherry picking bombed out sectors like oil and gas.