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• Economic Policy

CIS is guided by the philosophy of global free markets and individual responsibility. Our economic policy research centres on ideas for continuing reform that will strengthen Australia’s economic independence and prosperity, and challenge the over-reach of big government.

The Bipolar Pacific
Helen HughesAugust 21, 2008IA98

Australians have become accustomed to bad news from the Pacific islands. Conflict in the Solomon...

OAP rise is doubly taxing for GEN X and Y
Jeremy SammutAugust 15, 2008The Australian

This week’s debate about the future of the old age pension provides an insight into...

Submission to the NZ Business Tax Review 2008
Phil RennieAugust 14, 2008

The priorities for the NZ government should be: Reduce the corporate rate to 30% Reduce...

The case for corporate tax reform
Sinclair DavidsonAugust 13, 2008Online Opinion

Australia’s corporate tax is said to be very successful, raising substantial revenue, and there has...

Reserve Did Not Go Far or Fast Enough
Stephen KirchnerAugust 12, 2008The Age

Turning points in the official interest rate cycle are usually accompanied by claims that monetary...

Corporate tax needs attention now
Sinclair DavidsonAugust 7, 2008The Australian Financial Review

Australia’s corporate tax regime is very successful at raising revenue and also at escaping any...

Humankind and the infinite resource base
Marian L. TupyApril 2, 2026OP212

This paper examines the human ability to expand our resource base into infinity. Given human...

Why We Should Not Increase Capital Gains Tax
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026PP64
Debate about capital gains tax rarely occurs in isolation. It typically emerges during periods of...
10 CGT Myths Busted
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026IA155

The criticisms and characterisation of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have...

Growth that Builds: Beyond the immigration blame game 
Marian L. TupyMarch 5, 2026PP63
This paper argues that Australia’s housing crisis is primarily a supply failure, not simply a...
Reform of Heritage Legislation
Peter TulipFebruary 26, 2026PP62

Introduction Several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws in their heritage...

Hours, Not Dollars: Rethinking the cost-of-living debate 
Marian L. TupyFebruary 23, 2026AP102

Executive Summary Public debate about the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ often confuses nominal price increases with declining...

Jim Chalmers
Holes appear as Treasurer tries to convince with verbal flourishes
Simon CowanMay 4, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

The more detail we get on the government’s Future Made in Australia plans, the more...

Back to the future: Labor revives failed policies of the past
Simon CowanApril 22, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

The federal government’s planned Future Made in Australia Act is just the latest example of...

Raise taxes
Why Australian tax reform is doomed to fail
Simon CowanApril 6, 2024CANBERRA TIMES

Ken Henry has issued another call this week for government to pick up the long-abandoned...

Stage 3 Tax cuts
Stage three tax cuts haven’t blunted the impact of bracket creep
Matthew Taylor, Robert CarlingMarch 24, 2024AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Two months after announcing their Stage 3 income tax cuts backflip, and a month after...

GST pie 640x360
NSW needs to lead the charge on reforming GST share-out
Robert CarlingMarch 18, 2024AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

The carve-up of GST revenue among the states is never likely to be a barbecue...

HOUSING DIVIDE
Alan Kohler’s The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It
Peter TulipMarch 17, 2024QUARTERLY ESSAY

Comment by Peter Tulip Public discussion of housing policy suffers from undisciplined eclecticism. Too many...

“The 50% discount is unfair” and other CGT myths | Robert Carling & Michael Stutchbury
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyMarch 11, 2026

The criticisms and characterization of the 50% capital gains tax discount over many years have...

The Case for Optimism: More People, More Ideas, More Wealth | Marian Tupy
Marian L. Tupy, Michael StutchburyMarch 6, 2026

Marian Tupy — editor of HumanProgress.org, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of...

Old buildings and the housing crisis with Peter Tulip
Peter TulipMarch 4, 2026

Peter Tulip explains how several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws...

Angus Taylor at CIS: Economic Reform, Immigration, and Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis
Angus Taylor, Michael StutchburyFebruary 19, 2026

Speaking at his first address outside Canberra since being elected Leader of the Opposition by...

Reflecting Back: John Howard and Alexander Downer on Power, Alliances and Australia
John Howard OM AC, Alexander DownerFebruary 6, 2026

Alexander Downer and former Prime Minister John Howard join author Tony Parkinson and CIS Executive...

‘NIMBYism is a cancer’: Bragg outlines housing policy vision with Peter Tulip & Michael Stutchbury
Andrew Bragg, Peter Tulip, Michael StutchburyDecember 12, 2025

Senator Andrew Bragg and economist Peter Tulip join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on...

Submission to Senate Inquiry into Illegal Tobacco Crisis in Australia
Michael StutchburyJanuary 15, 2026
The federal government should pause increases in tobacco excise to weaken the profit of the...
Submission to Senate Education and Employment References Committee
Michael Wu October 22, 2025CIS

Despite good intentions, Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care system has expanded well beyond its...

Submission to Productivity Commission’s Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation Interim Report
September 15, 2025

The Productivity Commission’s statement that careful emissions reduction policy design will enable gains in productivity...

Submission to Heritage NSW
Peter TulipJuly 18, 2025CIS

This submission argues that NSW’s heritage legislation has serious flaws. In particular, costs of listing...

Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee Inquiry
Peter TulipMay 5, 2025CIS

Victoria Planning Provisions Amendments VC257, VC267 and VC274: Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee...

Submission to the Inquiry into financial regulation and home ownership
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024
Regulation of the financial system is needed to protect depositors and avoid financial crises. However,...
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