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• Tax

The aim of the research at the CIS is to work towards an efficient and predictable tax system that does not impose too great a burden on the economy.

The Tax Take Is Up
Robert CarlingJune 11, 2007Policy

The mantle of ‘highest taxing Treasurer’ may go with the job, but the government’s tax...

The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away: Tax Welfare Churning and the Case for Welfare State Opt-Outs
Peter SaundersMay 14, 2007PM74

Australians are more prosperous than ever before, so the number of people needing government assistance...

No real value in tax changes
Peter SaundersMay 10, 2007The Courier Mail

Real tax reform requires lower, fewer and flatter tax rates Now the dust has settled,...

Budget should deliver us a break
Robert CarlingApril 29, 2007Sunday Age

Income tax reform should be tackled in the federal budget. View this through the prism...

Public purse is a burden we all carry
Robert CarlingApril 24, 2007The Australian

IT doesn't have the significance of Anzac Day and you don't get a public holiday...

Do tax cuts make a difference?
Phil RennieDecember 12, 2006New Zealand Center For Political Debate

With a budget surplus of over $11 billion the government is fast running out of...

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...

Taxing Tobacco into Illegality: how split responsibilities and high excise created Australia’s tobacco wars
Sinclair DavidsonNovember 27, 2025AP95

Executive Summary Australia’s tobacco control policy has reached a breaking point. For decades, bans on...

The Unworkable Solution: An Economic Assessment of a Cashflow Tax for Australia
Sinclair DavidsonNovember 6, 2025AP93

Executive Summary Australia faces persistent economic challenges. Productivity growth has slowed, business investment is uneven,...

An economic walk on the supply side
Michael StutchburyOctober 16, 2025OP208

This is an edited version of Michael Stutchbury’s keynote address to the 2025 Freedom to...

Addressing Australia’s Productivity Problem. CORE Blueprint to Unshackle Productivity
Jim CoxAugust 14, 2025AP86

Introduction There is no one action that will lift Australia’s dwindling productivity growth; it is...

Why the war on wokeness is actually killing conservatives in Australia
Simon CowanNovember 29, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
Australian conservatives — however much they might be impressed by the way MAGA has fought...
Confessions of an Industrial Relations Club reporter
Michael StutchburyNovember 21, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
A half-century on from stagflation, outdated workplace rules and union monopolies remain the biggest barrier...
Australian money
Double the debt and half the fiscal clues
Robert CarlingNovember 21, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
The Labor government’s early surpluses now look like a flash in the pan and the...
A good budget means setting some rules and adhering to them
Robert Carling, Simon CowanNovember 15, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
There is a long history of fiscal rules, but the overall record is patchy, with...
SUPER WARS
Productivity Commission piles in to Labor’s schizophrenic war on big business
Michael StutchburyNovember 7, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Industry Minister Tim Ayres rightly says that Australia is in competition for global capital as...

Here’s how to fix poverty without taxing the rest of us more
Simon CowanOctober 18, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
The fact is, the more tightly assistance is targeted at those in need, the lower...
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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 the inquiry into the Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures Bill
Robert CarlingMay 14, 2024CIS
Submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee in relation to its inquiry into the Better...
Submission to Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance
Michael PotterApril 19, 2017CIS Submission

Corporate tax avoidance is an issue of some concern to the Australian community. However, many...

Submission to Senate Inquiry on Treasury Laws Amendment (Enterprise Tax Plan) Bill 2016
Michael PotterOctober 3, 2016CIS Submission

The submission by CIS Research Fellow Michael Potter provides a detailed case for a reduction...

Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Enterprise Tax Plan Bill 2016
Michael PotterSeptember 30, 2016CIS Submission

The growing company tax burden contrasts with the state of the economy, which is showing...

Principles and recommendations for tax reform – CIS submission National Reform Summit
Simon Cowan, Robert Carling, Henry ErgasAugust 27, 2015CIS Submission

The slant towards cutting taxes before 2010 was welcome, but for such an approach to...

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