This Month
Stand up to whinging gas giants
Readers’ letters on a controversial drawing in The Australian Financial Review, gas tax, replacing Jacinta Allan, and self-managed superannuation funds.
IEA boss warns Australia against ‘abrupt’ changes to oil and gas taxes
International Energy Agency executive director says sudden tax changes on gas exports could damage Australia’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.
Someone else just wrote Jim Chalmers’ big tax reform plan
Allegra Spender lobbed a $29 billion grenade into the tax debate, arguing Australia is becoming a place where your “parents’ balance sheet matters more than your own ambition”.
Wealthy Australians show how to ‘outsmart’ new $3m super tax
The government’s $2 billion revenue target might be at risk as people like Michael Finger and Brian Rodricks plan to beat the new Division 296 tax.
Chalmers urged to consider revenue hit to boost business investment
Treasurer Jim Chalmers concedes the tax system could do more to attract greater investment and bolster productivity – “if we can find a way to pay for that.”
Retail union turns up the heat on Jim Chalmers over housing taxes
The Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association surveyed its 200,000 members about tax policy. The response it got back was depressing for young Australians.
February
Cut 47 per cent tax rate to reduce property perks
The sharp rise in Australians caught in the top income taxation bracket is fuelling the exploitation of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
The Robin Hood state is coming for the rich
The big question is whether, in the pursuit of equality, governments are raising taxes on the rich so high that they are becoming counterproductive.
Higher tax on capital gains alone won’t fix ‘cruel system’: Kelty
The Labor luminary says scaling back the capital gains tax discount was “double-edged” as it could increase rents and must be accompanied by personal tax cuts.
How to use a super recontribution to build tax-free inheritance
Withdrawing and recontributing money to super could reduce the tax bill for your children – but there are limits.
Australia will pay for its Darwin Port mistake
Readers’ letters on the Darwin Port sale, Chalmers’ efforts on inflation, Adelaide Writers’ Week, the RBA’s interest rate decision, and AI and climate action.
January
Dangerous love affair with personal income tax will leave us poorer
Revenue from individuals forms our biggest tax base, but there are risks if we overload it. It’s time for a national conversation about comprehensive tax reform.
‘Soak the rich’ battle cry is rising from London to California
Throughout the West, governments are homing in on wealth taxes as a fix to rising fiscal problems. Emotions run high on both sides of the debate.
December 2025
Gold and AI boom deliver tax boost to Chalmers’ budget
Higher inflation and a turbocharged rally in gold and AI stocks provided a huge revenue lift, yet the nation remains on track for another decade of deficits.
High income tax causes property investors to negatively gear
In an inconvenient truth, new research shows that high personal income tax rates motivate earners to become leveraged landlords.
How to stop tax eating your returns at every income bracket
Individual investors who focus only on pre-tax investment returns could be hundreds of thousands of dollars worse off than those who get the structures right.
Black market economy: ABS to measure illegal cigarette sales
As sales of legal tobacco products plunge, the government statistician has taken the extraordinary step of trying to measure spending on black market nicotine.
SMSF members will ‘hold until death’ to avoid super tax
Retirees could defer the sale of assets to minimise the cost of the levy on balances above $3 million, raising doubts about how much revenue it will raise.
November 2025
ATO targets high earners over use of trusts to evade tax
The ATO has spelled out exactly what it will allow as it launches a compliance campaign targeting white-collar professionals and tradies who use family trusts and other entities to aggressively reduce tax.
How Aussie expats are being taxed out of London
The UK government’s swoop on overseas-earned income and assets is seeing some Australians move to Dublin and other low tax jurisdictions, accountants say.
