![Ross Gittins.](/web/20161003131142im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/z/q/9/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gowulw.png/1473296005405.jpg)
The truth about the Google tax
Does the Coalition really want its generous mates to "pay their fair share of tax"? Be sceptical. I am.
Ross Gittins is economics editor of the SMH and an economic columnist for The Age. His books include Gittins' Guide to Economics, Gittinomics and The Happy Economist.
Does the Coalition really want its generous mates to "pay their fair share of tax"? Be sceptical. I am.
The government has taken brave steps to clean up a mess it created years ago but in terms of fairness it falls short.
Many voters have strong views for or against negative gearing. But when rival politicians fall to arguing about their policies, most of us find we don't know enough to decide who's right.
Is there any justification for a royal commission into the conduct of the banks? Is it just a political stunt? All royal commissions are called for political reasons and many are stunts, in the sense that their primary objective is just to bring particular issues into the public spotlight.
How has the Herald changed in 185 years? How should I know – I've been working for it for less than a quarter of that time.
Big businesses must clean up their own behaviour before they start telling others what to do.
Has it ever occurred to you that, in all our economic striving, most of us – almost all our business people, economists and politicians, but also many normal people – are missing the point?
It's a question doubting customers have been asking me through the whole of my career: but where will all the jobs come from? We worry about jobs, convinced there's never enough of them.
Advances in automation have made subsidies for many health services unnecessary, but taking steps to remove them leads to outrage.
The closer we get to the pointy end of the Coalition government's first term, the more Malcolm Turnbull seems to be shrinking to the size of his stunted predecessors.
Search pagination
Save articles for later.
Subscribe for unlimited access to news. Login to save articles.
Return to the homepage by clicking on the site logo.