Yesterday
Dutton’s fuel tax cut is bad economics
The pledge to temporarily cut the price of petrol exposes the Liberals for embracing a Labor-lite version of debt-funded spending, while shying away from serious tax reforms.
This Month
Labor’s spending ‘diet’ not believable, economists warn
Labor’s budget forecasts for spending to decline slightly from a 40-year high are built on shaky savings assumptions economists say, and are unlikely to be achieved.
Dutton urged to index income tax brackets
“If we’re voting against Labor’s tax cut, we need to have our own tax package to reduce the burden on people and business,” one Liberal MP says.
Is Katy Gallagher tough enough on spending to be finance minister?
The Canberran is responsible for the expenditure side of the budget. But that is at a 40-year high and there is no plan to rein it in.
A $1 trillion debt looms. There will be a price to pay for it
Treasurer Jim Chalmers may have delivered a politically clever budget, but he is amassing more on the national credit card without a plan to pay for it.
Chalmers splashed 20 major spending measures, but just 3 big savings
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget contains expenditure at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. Economists warn promises of future restraint seem unrealistic.
GST shapes up as Trump trade tariff exemption stumbling block
The US President says he will give ‘a lot of countries breaks’ but officials warn it remains difficult to tell what will be counted as a trade barrier.
Top Trump official presses Australia on coal compensation
Donald Trump’s top trade official has raised concerns with Don Farrell about a failure to compensate American investors for the cancellation of a NSW coal mining licence.
Labor warns Musk not to meddle in election
Andrew Leigh warned against election interference, as US digital giants lobby Donald Trump to pressure Australia to water down crackdowns on big tech and multinational tax.
US giants lash Labor’s tax crackdown amid Trump trade war
Major American companies have complained to the White House trade office over Labor’s tax crackdown on multinationals amid intense tariff negotiations.
What I’m watching for in this year’s budget
The Financial Review’s economics editor’s six go-to measures to look for in Tuesday’s budget, which is Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ fourth one and precedes the election.
Chalmers rules out any more income tax cuts
The treasurer has rejected giving working-age people further relief from bracket creep and ruled out broader tax reform in the next term of government.
Off-budget spending nears $100b in Chalmers’ budget
Deloitte estimates off budget spending will be $10 billion more than forecast as Labor piles taxpayer money into loss-making assets like the NBN and the Whyalla steelworks.
Trump’s big trade shock is coming for Australia
A private talk by the US commerce secretary to Australian executives in Washington was a jaw-dropper and a wake-up call about the next steps in the upheaval.
Lower tariff for Australia in next Trump plan
Australia faces a potential tariff of between 2 per cent and 8 per cent on the $30 billion of exports sold to the United States, such as beef and pharmaceuticals.
Liberal tensions emerge over party’s sales pitch on economy
Some MPs believe the Coalition isn’t as prepared as it should be to fight Labor on the economic front, but there are others who say it’s all going to plan.
Green bank backs electrification, but offshore wind too risky
Clean Energy Finance Corporation chief executive Ian Learmonth says the $33 billion fund has shifted towards supporting household electrification and major poles and wire projects vital to Australia’s green energy transition.
The typical family is $19,000 poorer since Labor took power: Coalition
In a pre-election cost-of-living attack, the Coalition says the disposable income of a typical family is more than $19,000 lower since Labor came to power.
Inside the budget Chalmers never really wanted to deliver
The real challenge for Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese is how they craft a message about a budget they were hoping to avoid.
How Albanese can fight Trump’s tariffs
Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium are more of a political headache for Anthony Albanese than an economic problem for Australia.