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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.

Labor’s path to joining the worst welfare states
Robert CarlingJuly 23, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Jim Chalmers’ economic reform roundtable must confront Australia’s entitlement mindset – which governments have fostered....
Leviathan on the Rampage: Government spending growth a threat to Australia’s economic future
Robert CarlingJuly 23, 2025AP84

Executive summary The rising trend of government expenditure in Australia has long been present but...

The 3 intergenerational challenges Chalmers’ roundtable must fix
Trisha JhaJuly 18, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
The government’s upcoming Productivity Roundtable risks being yet another fest of short-term electoral thinking....
We’ve been here before. This time it’s serious
Greg LindsayJuly 16, 2025SPECTATOR

With the current Treasurer jumping on the tax reform bandwagon, assuring the public that reform...

Deficit a worry and right-wing governments aren’t going to fix it
Simon CowanJuly 12, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
The CIS has been warning about the risks of debt and deficits for some time....
productivity office work staff
Productivity stakes couldn’t be higher at roundtable
Gene TunnyJuly 4, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Productivity must trump politics in Labor’s second term...
Are there any good arguments against cutting income taxes?
Sinclair DavidsonJuly 1, 2005PM69

The 2005 federal budget caused a storm of protest from the Labor Party, the trade...

The $85 Billion Tax/Welfare Churn
Peter SaundersApril 7, 2005IA57

This is the first of three papers in the series ‘Restoring Self-Reliance in Welfare’ analysing...

How Highly Taxed Are We? The Level and Composition of Taxation in Australia and the OECD
Peter BurnNovember 19, 2004PM67

Taxation imposes costs. Some of these arise from its effects on international competitiveness, for taxes...

The Very Idea of a Flat Tax
Lauchlan ChipmanOctober 29, 2004PM66

Arguments about the desirability of this or that taxation measure or policy invariably involve assertions...

Will You Still Vote for Me in the Morning? Why Politicians Aren’t Rushing to Increase Taxes
Andrew NortonJuly 16, 2004PM65

Despite repeated claims by advocates of big government that Australia is a ‘low tax country,’...

Who Pays the Lion’s Share of Personal Income Tax?
Sinclair DavidsonJuly 13, 2004PM63

Davidson’s paper performs a service by exposing the absurdities of some of the claims that...

Housing negative gearing tax
Reducing the discount would likely not have any lasting impact in lowering house prices
Robert Carling, Michael StutchburyMarch 21, 2026CANBERRA TIMES

Anyone watching the smoke signals from Canberra knows that moves are afoot to try and...

Alarm bells ringing on more interest rate pain
Michael StutchburyMarch 18, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH
Australians were losing faith that the combination of Labor’s economic policies and the RBA monetary...
Labor’s capital gains tax myths need busting
Robert CarlingMarch 11, 2026DAILY TELEGRAPH

Labor has long held an axe over the capital gains tax 50% discount and negative...

Economic exceptionalism is dead – and rate cuts died with it
Michael StutchburyJanuary 31, 2026AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Jim Chalmers doesn’t have a central bank governor to blame for his forward misguidance or...
Black market lit up by backfiring ciggies tax
Michael StutchburyDecember 2, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Jacking up the price of a product usually ensures that less of it is sold....

Tip from a friend: Australia’s economy is in a slow race to ruin
Michael StutchburyNovember 29, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Sometimes it takes outsiders to say the obvious but unwelcome things: high spending, low growth...
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Submission to the Re:think Tax Discussion Paper
Robert CarlingMay 1, 2015The Centre for Independent Studies

This submission responds to the invitation for comments on the Re:think tax discussion paper released...

Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

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