This Month
Income taxes to rise to pay for ‘stupid’ policies, warns economist
In an audit of the federal government’s finances, budget watcher Chris Richardson warned projections for spending restraint over the coming years were unrealistic.
Income tax props up Chalmers’ budget (again)
A personal income tax surge has underpinned a $400 billion revenue gain since Labor’s budget came to office, paving the way for the treasurer to talk up his economic management.
January
Proposed lunch tax deduction to hurt productivity, warns Eslake
Labor accuses the Coalition of using taxpayer money to ‘shout your boss steak tartare’, but the opposition says its policy will help the hospitality sector.
December 2024
WA GST deal blows out to $54b
Western Australia will receive an extra $21.1 billion over the next four years as part of the agreement, which veteran budget watcher Chris Richardson says is a “travesty”.
October 2024
Bottom line stronger, but third budget surplus unlikely
A third successive budget surplus is a rank outsider, despite the bottom line already being $5.3 billion better off than forecast
May 2024
‘Super-sized hole’ in budget as Treasury revises tax take
Treasury has cut $11 billion from its four-year estimates of revenue from superannuation taxes, as “overly large tax concessions” keep benefiting the richest retirees.
January 2024
How much tax high earners are really paying
The Albanese government’s move to consider tweaking the stage three personal income tax cuts fuels speculation that relief for high earners could be trimmed.
Iron ore price surge delivers Labor an $18b tax windfall
The surge in iron ore to $US145 per tonne bolsters the prospect of a second budget surplus, and comes as Labor plans another round of subsidies for voters.
November 2023
PRRT changes pushed into next year
Senate debate on changes to the PRRT will not occur until February at the earliest.
December 2022
Budget on track for slim $600m surplus in 2022
The federal budget is tipped for a slim $600 million surplus in 2022 after the latest government monthly financial statements showed the commodity price boom delivering record company taxes.
July 2022
RBA in a ‘tug of war’ with government
The RBA is playing a game of “Hokey Pokey” with the federal government, with one taking money out of the economy and the other putting it right back in, economist Chris Richardson says.
February 2022
Deloitte’s Chris Richardson strikes yet another position
Richardson’s latest comments on the federal budget are curious given he spent 2021 articulating versions of the contrary.
December 2021
Surging economy to wipe $100b off deficit: Deloitte
Chris Richardson is tipping that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver a double dose of good news – on jobs and the budget – this Thursday.
November 2021
Defence and social spending to blow out budget: Deloitte
Long-term spending on defence and social services means the deficit will settle at $60 billion a year, says Deloitte Access Economics.
October 2021
House prices are not a bubble, says Chris Richardson
Rocketing house prices are not in a bubble but the natural result of historically low interest rates, the veteran economist says.
May 2021
Growth alone won’t fix the budget
Savings similar to levels last seen in Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey’s politically toxic 2014 budget are needed to balance the books despite an expected $98 billion improvement to the bottomline, according to Deloitte.
September 2020
Australia’s five most powerful consultants in 2020
Major firms – including the big four – had been posting strong year-on-year growth amid rising demand. Then the pandemic hit, hard and fast.
Budget jobs trigger will take four years
It will take more than four years and another election for the federal government to achieve its new economic goal of a jobless rate "comfortably" below 6 per cent, new budget analysis says.
Keep JobSeeker instead of bringing forward tax cuts: retail boss
Former David Jones boss Paul Zahra says unemployed Australians should not be forced to the poverty line by a windback of JobSeeker.
July 2020
How did Ross Garnaut get China so wrong?
What Professor Garnaut described as Australia's 'circularity of elite communication' has served the nation well.