Chalmers' super tax will send productivity backwards
All Australians need a conversation about tax. To start, we need to be honest about what drives productivity and what destroys it.
Taxing unrealised gains in superannuation, as proposed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, will not deliver the productivity reform that is desperately needed. It is a backward, distortionary measure that will stifle investment, kill innovation and reduce the very productivity growth he claims to champion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
28 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Postage price bump gets watchdog's stamp of approval
The cost of sending a letter is set to rise as the consumer watchdog waves through a price bump to reflect the decline in snail mail. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approves of the 13.3 per cent price increase, allowing Australia Post to nudge stamps for ordinary small letters up to $1.70 from $1.50. The final hurdle for the fee change is Communications Minister Anika Wells, who still has an opportunity to reject the change. If finalised, the new stamp fees will kick in on July 17. ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said the call was based on evidence Australia Post's letter operations were bringing in less revenue than the money it was costing to run it. "Our final decision recommends Australia Post examine ways to alleviate affordability issues for businesses, including those subject to requirements to send physical mail," Ms Brakey said. Under the fee changes, ordinary large letters between 125 and 250 grams will jump from $4.50 to $5.10. Stamps for large letters lighter than 125g will tick higher from $3.00 to $3.40. Charities will still be offered discount rates. Australia Post says letter volumes have declined to levels not seen since the 1950s. "The average household purchases five to six full-rate stamps each year and the proposed increase would cost them about $1.20 extra per year," a spokesperson said on Monday. Even with the price increase, Australians will still be paying less than the current median price of $1.93 for a small letter across OECD postal service operators. The self-funded government enterprise may be losing money delivering letters, but has benefited from growing appetites for online shopping and parcel delivery.
West Australian
30 minutes ago
- West Australian
Postage price bump gets watchdog's stamp of approval
The cost of sending a letter is set to rise as the consumer watchdog waves through a price bump to reflect the decline in snail mail. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approves of the 13.3 per cent price increase, allowing Australia Post to nudge stamps for ordinary small letters up to $1.70 from $1.50. The final hurdle for the fee change is Communications Minister Anika Wells, who still has an opportunity to reject the change. If finalised, the new stamp fees will kick in on July 17. ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said the call was based on evidence Australia Post's letter operations were bringing in less revenue than the money it was costing to run it. "Our final decision recommends Australia Post examine ways to alleviate affordability issues for businesses, including those subject to requirements to send physical mail," Ms Brakey said. Under the fee changes, ordinary large letters between 125 and 250 grams will jump from $4.50 to $5.10. Stamps for large letters lighter than 125g will tick higher from $3.00 to $3.40. Charities will still be offered discount rates. Australia Post says letter volumes have declined to levels not seen since the 1950s. "The average household purchases five to six full-rate stamps each year and the proposed increase would cost them about $1.20 extra per year," a spokesperson said on Monday. Even with the price increase, Australians will still be paying less than the current median price of $1.93 for a small letter across OECD postal service operators. The self-funded government enterprise may be losing money delivering letters, but has benefited from growing appetites for online shopping and parcel delivery.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Fears for 4200 Aussies stranded in war zone
More than 4000 Australians are waiting to be evacuated in Israel and Iran, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong flagging a potential small window that could allow Australian officials to move them. Plans have become more precarious after the US launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with Iran vowing retaliation against America. Iran and Israel have also continued to trade strikes. On Monday morning, Senator Wong said 1300 Australians in Israel and 2900 Aussies in Iran had registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs as wanting to leave; however, evacuation attempts in Iran are more complicated. Australian officials have been stationed at the Azerbaijani border, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading (DFAT) releasing photos of the operation assisting Australians leave the war zone on Monday. 'Obviously, in relation to Iran, the situation is very difficult. The airspace is closed. We no longer have Australian officials in the country,' Senator Wong told Adelaide radio station FiveAA. 'We made a difficult decision to close our embassy and ask them to leave because of the risk … particularly to diplomats that we know does exist historically in Iran, in times of the unrest.' DFAT released photos of officials stationed at the Azerbaijani border who are assisting Aussies leaving Iran. DFAT Credit: Supplied While there are 'reports' the airspace over Israel may be open 'for a window today (Monday)', Senator Wong said it was a fast-moving situation. 'We have contacted people on the ground, but obviously the situation changes very quickly, and the risk is high, so we have to take that one step at a time,' she said. On Sunday, DFAT said that while the airspace remained closed, the government would be assisting bus transfers between Tele Aviv in Israel to Amman in Jordan. Although Australia's embassy in Tehran, Iran's capital, remains closed, Australia's Ambassador to Iran Ian McConville has remained in the area to support the government's response. DFAT urged 'Australians who want to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe, otherwise shelter in place'.
