The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) have long complained that too few people are unemployed. They will no doubt be happy then that unemployment in April rose to 4.5% - the highest level since 2021 – and before the full impact of the rates rises this year take effect.
Angus Taylor just accidentally proved that the housing affordability crisis has nothing to do with immigration. In his budget reply speech he said “A Coalition government will cap immigration numbers based on the number of homes constructed each year.” But clearly, no one in his office ran the numbers.
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One of the more hilarious aspects of the budget is that conservative newspapers have discovered that young people exist. Not all young people, mind. Not young people trying to cope on Jobseeker, or young people coping with a more precarious labour force than in the past, or young people with disabilities about to be kicked off the NDIS, not even young people wanting to buy a home. Nope, we are talking about young people who invest.
The Albanese Government’s move to tackle the CGT discount is aimed at addressing one of the very settings many economists and housing advocates argue helped push the dream of home ownership further out of reach.
While Labor gained seven seats, their first-preference vote was actually 2.5% lower than the 40% they had achieved in 2022. Labor won over 70% of the seats on a preference vote of almost half that, 37.5%. This is thanks to single-member electorates.
Next year, WA drivers will pay more in rego fees than gas companies will in royalties. It gets worse if you add up all the revenue forecast over the next 4 years. It’s not just drivers, but those paying the emergency services levy and gamblers who will all pay more than gas companies do in royalties.
Australia’s arts and culture cannot be produced overseas, and cannot be moved offshore. It can only be made here. So, amidst a struggling sector, what has the government announced to make sure it still is? In short, not much.
It's true that some taxes grow and while others fade away. Here's a look at some of the 'smaller taxes' by how much they are expected to grow over the next 4 years. What's striking is that while Australia is in the middle of a gas price boom, the PRRT is still expected to fall by a third.
We know the amount raised from the beer excise is greater than the PRRT, but the bank levy is also bigger than the PRRT. It's little wonder the head of the Commonwealth Bank has twigged that gas companies are taking the piss.
Preliminary analysis shows that Australian taxpayers are set to miss out on $16 billion in gas export tax revenue over the next 12 months. While the Budget includes a $100 million upward revision in Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) revenue for 2026-27, on the back of $63.9 billion in gas exports, it is microscopic compared to the $16 billion that could be raised with a 25% tax on gas exports.
