Memo Scott Morrison: there ain't no jam jars
What's this about a "locked box"?
Federal Budget news
No budget bonanza: Forecasting panel sees weak year ahead
Few of Australia's leading economists expect the government to deliver the cut in the budget deficit promised.
Economists believe commodity run is probably done
It is rare to find much unanimity among economists, but one of the few things they agree on is that the trough in commodity prices of 2016 will not be repeated. The question for now is how far will prices retreat, especially following the March quarter, which often marks a cyclical high.
Resource spending downturn yet to bottom
The collapse in resource sector investment has yet to run its course, with the looming completion of as much as $100 million of spending on gas export projects to slash the level of engineering construction to the lowest level since 2009, a report by Deloitte Access Economics has found.
Cutting company tax won't drive investment: Australia Institute
New research ridicules the prime minister's claim that cutting the company tax rate will boost foreign investment, pointing out that almost all of Australia's foreign investment applications come from countries with much lower tax rates.
Australia's biggest tax break: you're sitting in it
The family home has eclipsed superannuation as Australia's biggest tax break.
How the Tax Commissioner was leant on to deliver high-end tax cuts
When Scott Morrison rose in Parliament to promise high-end tax cuts, he knew he faced a powerful obstacle.
MP urges Morrison to extend $20,000 instant asset writeoff
A popular Abbott government initiative could be given more time if the Small Business Minister gets his way.
Company tax cuts wrong move, says Costello
Proposed cuts to company tax have come under fire from former federal treasurer Peter Costello for being less effective at boosting the economy than personal tax cuts.
Call that a budget improvement? The ratings agencies won't
The ratings agencies won't fall for it, and neither should you.
What's a AAA credit rating and why does it matter?
What is this rating, where does it come from and does it matter? Your AAA-rating questions answered.
A soft drink tax will make us less fat. But here's what it will do to prices
The United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Fiji, Mexico, South Africa and parts of America have sugar taxes. Australia could be next.
End the age of entitlement - for seniors
Australia's tax system has become skewed towards a growing and apparently untouchable group of 'taxed nots' - they are older Australians who pay roughly $1 billion per year less tax than younger Australians in the same circumstances, according to a new Grattan Institute report.
$24 billion budget blowout. Government to confirm the worst on December 19
Much lower than expected wage growth has knocked a hole in the government's budget projections, blowing out deficits right through until 2019-20.
Reagan guru says Trump will usher in new boom era
DONALD TRUMP'S plan for sweeping tax cuts and deregulation will spur a US economic boom that could "last for generations" if the president-elect resists a lurch towards protectionism
Illegal 'cash-in-hand' payments on the rise
More than 5500 workers dob in their bosses to the Australian Taxation Office every year for allegedly paying them "cash in hand".
ATO settlements with big companies dive
In an attempt to avoid lengthy disputes, the Australian Taxation Office cut more deals in the 2015-16 financial year, but the dollar value of those settlements dived, largely because a backlog of old disputes with companies have come to an end.
Photo finish for Melbourne Cup day rate cut
Lower than expected underlying inflation has two market economists predicting a Melbourne Cup Day rate cut, although neither with much conviction.
Forget big tax cuts, say Telstra and Virgin Australia bosses
The bosses of two large companies have poured cold water on the federal government's broader push to drop corporate tax rates.
Eyes on RBA as underlying inflation slips
Australia's annual inflation rate climbed to 1.3 per cent in September, but the underlying rates, used to guide the Reserve Bank, fell
Rebounding BHP blasts Australian critics
The good times are starting to roll for BHP Billiton as higher commodity prices are helping to fatten its bottom line.
Business group lashes PM over deficit, tax scare campaign
Six months ago the business-backed Committee for the Economic Development of Australia presented the Turnbull government with what it said was a clear and practical plan to return the budget to surplus. There were 5 of them in fact, including different mixes of proposals such as better taxing superannuation contributions, halving the tax discount for capital gains, ending negative gearing, boosting taxes on luxury cars, alcohol and tobacco, and taxing the private health insurance rebate.
Resources export surge tipped on higher prices
Resurgent prices rather than volumes has prompted a key government forecaster to hike its view of Australia's resources and energy exports in the year ahead
Super tax fairness is the key to budget repair
Scott Morrison can use scare tactics in seeking greater support for his task of getting the budget back on track, but he'll do better by spreading the needed sacrifice more fairly.
Morrison levels with us: We have a revenue problem after all
Now he tells us. Within days of his appointment as treasurer last year Scott Morrison rashly assured us he faced "a spending problem, not a revenue problem".
An attempt to shock us out of our complacency, for what?
One year into his job as treasurer, Scott Morrison has conceded that he does have a revenue problem after all, and delivered a stirring defence of... not that much.
G20 calls for tax policy overhaul
Group of 20 finance ministers say taxation policies should be improved worldwide to reflect globalisation and promote socially balanced, sustainable economic growth.
Why austerity measures don't work
What if the prime minister sacked the treasurer and promised to govern for everyone, not just those near the top?
Three simple tweaks to stop our leaders shortchanging us
What if budgets, and candidates for office, told the truth?
What's a AAA credit rating and does it matter?
What is this rating, where does it come from and does it matter? Your AAA-rating questions answered.
Rising number of Australian companies going bust
High rate of corporate collapses as economy shifts away from mining sector
Company tax cuts 'built on uncertain foundations'
Claims of a boost to living standards from the government's planned company tax cuts rest largely on a dramatic reduction in tax avoidance, a new analysis shows.
Morrison plays get-out-of-jail-free card
In budgeting it's known as the magic asterisk, the get-out-of-jail-free card. If it looks as though you'll be in the red, you simply add in a figure for general unspecified savings and, magically, your problem's solved.
Cutbacks from Labor. It's about time
Labor is about to do what the Coalition did in the leadup to the last election. It's about to face reality.
This time it's the Coalition promising things it can't afford
Labor ought to consider reversioning the old 1980's AIDS slogan: "I like sex, but I'm not prepared to die for it."
Australia divided as 30 electorates go backwards
In some electorates, the economy is shrinking by as much as 2 per cent per year. In others, it is growing by 5 per cent or more.
Black economy could balance books
Want to know where the money is for the budget?
Forget about searching for black holes, they're not there
The tally of costings released at the end of a campaign almost always adds up and always puts the budget slightly ahead.
Don't trust budget numbers. Treasury says so
About the only the only thing the treasury believes about this year's budget is the economic forecasts. It certainly doesn't believe the deficit forecasts.
Cuts or tax rises needed, warns budget update
Treasury and Finance have warned that significant spending cuts – or a big rise in tax receipts – will be needed to return the federal budget to surplus over the medium term.