Australia will soon see a new research and development tax credit, after a sudden shift of support for the proposal in the Australian Parliament. Earlier this week the Green Party of Australia pledged political and voting support to assist the ruling Labour Party in implementing its policy for a research and development tax credit. With the shift in political backing, on June 15th the Labour Party came forward to announce that the tax credit is now expected to come into effect on July ... Read More

The government of Australia has released its 2011 – 2012 budgetary plan, saying that the included measures and tax changes will bring the country back to a budgetary surplus by next year. The Treasurer of Australia Wayne Swann released the country’s 2011 – 2012 budgetary plan on May 10th, outlining several refinements to the country’s economic policies and tax systems. It is planned that the changes will lead to the government seeing a budgetary surplus no later than 2013. The new measures ... Read More

The government of Australia is claiming that its planned carbon tax and emissions trading scheme will ultimately be of great benefit to the people of the country, especially retirees or people on low incomes. While speaking in an interview on April 13th the Climate Change Minister Greg Combet assuranced that at least half of the revenues raised by the upcoming carbon tax would be used to fund economic aid projects for low-income households. "We expect that millions of households will be better off ... Read More

With less than three months to go in the current Australian financial year, the federal government is being warned to brace itself for tighter financial conditions, as corporate tax revenues are set to be below target for the year. According to the Australian Treasury, after a year of repeated interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank, continued growth in the exchange rate of the national dollar, and natural disasters both locally and among its major trading partners, Australia is set to see an ... Read More

Australia needs to stop subsidizing fuel production, and implement effective policies which encourage positive change in greenhouse gas emissions levels. On February 9th the Australia Institute released a report examining the effect of economic and tax policies on the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. According to the report, in the current fiscal year the government will provide AUD 9 billion in subsidies and tax concessions to the mining, gas and petroleum industries, a move that directly counteracts continued nationwide efforts to ... Read More