The Reserve Bank’s lone dissenter against a rate rise argued interest rates were already high enough to get inflation back under control, before being overruled by the rest of the central bank’s board. Minutes of the May 5 meeting, released on Tuesday, revealed the reasons why...
States and territories are being urged to slash stamp duty for small businesses and families to help them handle the fallout of a contentious overhaul of tax on investments. The federal government has flagged some GST relief for Australians affected by a new 30 per cent...
Rental supplies in the middle ring of Australian capital cities could be hollowed out by changes to investor tax concessions in the federal budget. Real estate agents expect investor interest in established properties to crater after Tuesday’s budget scrapped negative gearing and wound back the capital...
Australia’s tax system would be overhauled, welfare restricted to citizens and immigration slashed under a future coalition government. In his first budget reply speech, Angus Taylor has conceded the Liberals and Nationals still have a long road to win back the confidence of voters, but asked...
A row has broken out over the cost of cutting taxes for millions of Australians as Labor and the opposition try to sell rival economic plans to voters. After a week dominated by the state of the nation’s finances, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused the opposition...
An extension to Australia’s fuel tax discount is still being weighed up as disruption to global oil shipments drives states to chase more control over petrol and diesel supplies. The federal government’s three-month cut to the fuel excise kicked in at the start of April, reducing...
Delays in a long-awaited policy designed to stop Australians in home care being overcharged are being blamed on economic shocks from the Iran war. The federal government had intended to introduce price caps for home care services from July, but has put the move on ice...
Property owners in Australia’s most populous state could pay an annual levy of up to $600 under a proposal to change the way emergency services are funded. NSW is the only mainland state that funds emergency services by taxing property insurance customers, a levy that has...
Young homeowner Mika likes Jim Chalmers’ housing policies but the treasurer’s preferred choice of coffee is a problem. “Does anyone know how to make a long black?” she asks media and ministerial staff waiting in her small Canberra apartment while her husband Matt busies himself with...
A controversial plan to link immigration figures with the number of homes being built ignores the role skilled migrants could play in building these properties, experts warn. A parliamentary inquiry is investigating the value of skilled migration to Australia. On Tuesday, the committee was told if the...