InSight | Chipping in: Taxation for our Times | Centre for Policy Development

InSight's writers delve into Australia's tax system and call for an opening of the minds and a little widening of the pockets. They uncover uncomfortable truths and reconnect the tax debate with our fundamental assumptions about what Australia's future should look like.

The tax review led by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry has received its final submissions, but the tussle over who should bear the costs and reap the benefits of tax reform has barely begun. The review posed some difficult questions - can it deliver difficult answers?

Tax: A Broader Mission

Are we asking our tax and transfer systems to do too much? Ian McAuley believes we have been trying to use transfer payments to compensate for our economy's inability to provide enough well-paying jobs - a strategy that can only last so long.

The ethical basis of a good tax system

The need for tax-funded services and payments is rising, writes Eva Cox, but public support for increased taxation can only be sustained if we shift the focus of the social security system.

Real world economics

Death and taxes

Much ink has been spilled in a longstanding debate about the willingness of citizens to forego tax cuts for investment in services. What's missing, argues Mark Bahnisch, is genuine political leadership to achieve the necessary mix of taxation and public provision.

Real world economics

Taxation, Social Justice and Economic Development

The tax system affects when people are born and how they are educated, where they live and for how long, whether and how they raise a family, and even what they eat, drink and drive. Julian Disney outlines ideas for tax reform that will deliver tangible benefits in most Australians' daily lives.

Real world economics

Good Policy Isn’t Always Enough

The easiest part of Dr Ken Henry’s job will be designing a better tax system for Australia. Selling it to the Australia people will be the bigger challenge writes Michael Richardson

Taxation

THE LATERALIST: Social super funds?

THE LATERALIST tackles the big issues of the day...sideways. In his first column for InSight THE LATERALIST wonders whether our super savings system could provide a useful model for funding the third sector.

Real world economics

Henry's Forgotten Sector

Mark Lyons raises concerns about the Henry Review's capacity to deal with nonprofits while Cheryl Kernot points the way forward - tax concessions for social investment.