In Australia's first five decades as a Federation, tax reform efforts were driven by the need to establish robust revenue bases for a growing nation and settle relative taxing responsibilities of the Commonwealth and state governments. These decades were also a time of crises with two world wars...

The nature of Australia’s federation, including its Constitution, means the Commonwealth controls the principal revenue-raising instruments, but large expenditure responsibilities are left to the states, with the consequent imbalance dealt with by fiscal transfers between governments. The...

The year 2001 marked the centenary of the Australian Federation, and the new century promised fresh opportunities as technology developments and an emerging resources boom drove economic growth and revenues. The consequent strong fiscal position perhaps offered a chance to ‘buy’ some more...