Business pays for Morrison's budget
Scott Morrison said his 2018 budget is backing business. He could just as well have said business is backing the Treasurer to keep his job.
Cash no longer king, payments over $10,000 banned
Cash payments of more than $10,000 will be outlawed under a crackdown on the cash economy expected to raise more than $7 billion.
Treasury undershoots RBA on economic outlook
Treasurer Scott Morrison reckons the Reserve Bank of Australia is a touch too optimistic about the economic outlook.
Young savers win in life insurance crackdown
Super fund members under 25 and those with balances under $6000 will no longer be forced to take out life insurance, as part of changes that will add $700 million to budget coffers.
Blue Sky faces performance fee reckoning
Blue Sky faces adoption of a new accounting standard that will affect the way the fund manager treats performance fees.
AMP rebuild gets tougher
The resignation of three female AMP directors could open up a raft of new problems for the wealth manager.
Morrison hands out $140b in tax cuts
The government has launched its re-election bid with a federal budget that hands out $140 billion in income tax cuts over the next decade, locks in a surplus within three years and forecasts a drastic reduction in debt before 2030.
Corporate tax take to hit $100b in 2021-22
The budget projects that the annual company tax take will hit $100 billion for the first time in four years' time, giving the lie to popular claims that Australian corporations by and large do not pay their share of taxes.
Healthscope's $2.2b property lures Canadians
The appearance of Canada's NorthWest Healthcare Properties on Healthscope's register has sharpened the focus on the group's $2.17 billion property portfolio.
ATO expands probe into oil services giant
The ATO's probe into Schlumberger continues a crackdown on multinationals working in the local oil and gas sector.
Equity investments a budget 'time-bomb'
The Turnbull government has left open the option of making its $5 billion commitment to the Melbourne airport rail link an equity contribution which would take the debt off the budget bottom line.
Sydney rail investors knew of delays
Equity investors in Sydney's troubled George Street light rail project were told in September 2017 it would not be finished on time – even though the public was not informed until April.
Economy gets an endorphin hit
Hear that sound? The dull roar of an economy slowly coming good?
Buoyant commodity prices help boost corporate tax take
Stronger than expected coal and oil prices will help boost the corporate tax take by $5.2 billion over the next four years.
World economy rides to the rescue
The rebound in global growth has come at just the right time for the Coalition but it might not last.
BHP, Rio customers cool on RMB commodity pricing
Australia's two biggest miners have seen little sign that customers want to use Chinese currency to buy their products.
Opinion
A powerful call to voters - stick with us
Budgets are always a contest between politics and economics; how close the next election call usually set the priorities.
Morrison aims to make the politics add up
Scott Morrison is determined to show Australians the Coalition government has a PLAN. The budget is the down payment.
O'Dwyer right to lose patience with insurers
The superannuation and insurance industries developed a code about how super should be dealt with inside the retirement savings system, but it was only voluntary and failed to deal with the plight of younger savers.
Bid pushback has Eramet on a Limb
A $287.5 million French bid for an Australian-listed Senegalese mineral sands miner is becoming particularly hostile.
Taxpayers on $200,000 to save $7225 a year
Under the Turnbull government's tax plan, people earning $200,000 will save as much as $7225 from their annual tax bill but the bulk of the cuts will not show up until 2024-25.
Personal tax crackdown to raise $1.1b
Over-claiming of deductions such as work expenses and rental losses will be targeted in a Tax Office crackdown designed to raise $1.8 billion in additional revenue.
Foreign infrastructure buyers targeted
Sellers of major infrastructure assets - such as ports, airports and tollroads - may have to lower their price expectations as a result of new tax measures announced in the budget.
Morrison delivers an election-winning effort
It's a brilliant budget that could be a game-changer by tapping into the deep discontent the public has with political weasel-words.
Good news for unis on research funding
A new National Research Infrastructure Investment Plan will inject funds into projects
Trump dumps 'one-sided' Iran nuclear deal
President Donald Trump said he was pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, unravelling the work of his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Comcast may beat Disney to Murdoch's Fox assets
A major battle of media titans is brewing as Comcast considers a deal to push Disney out of the running to buy 21st Century Fox assets.
NZ accountants backdated Malta documents
Malta's Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi ordered New Zealand trust documents to be backdated at the time the Panama Papers were being published.
Trump trade threat to budget numbers
Donald Trump's protectionist agenda is casting a shadow on the budget's forecasts.
What next if a Trump-Kim deal actually happens?
Success in Donald Trump's high stakes meeting with the North Korean dictator will produce one unambiguous winner: China.
Personal Finance
Boomer plan blunts housing policies
A plan to help up to 20,000 more older Australians stay in their homes longer conflicts with policies to free up housing stock, experts say.
Tax hit for foreign investors
Multinationals will no longer be able to claim tax deductions for debt financing based on inflated asset values.
Older people encouraged to age at home
Older Australians will be encouraged to live longer at home before moving into nursing homes as the Turnbull government braces for the fiscal tsunami of baby boomers reaching retirement age.
Skills boost to keep older people working
Workers and job seekers aged over 45 will be eligible for training programs to ensure they have the skills necessary to stay in the labour market.
Uni boost as VET loses out, again
The government will argue that the Skilling Australians Fund is meant to turn around the VET sector.
Endeavour Brewing's Ben Kooyman likes the budget
The budget saving that matters most to brewer Ben Kooyman is the saving of his left big toe.
TAFE students feel the heat
"Students like me can't afford it," she said. "I'm not happy with the prospect of no further help on fees."
Lifestyle
Australia to be a medical technology leader
New spending on taxpayer-subsidised drugs, rual health programs and regional medical schools are in Tuesday's budget.
