After World War II, international attention turned to economic reconstruction and the transition back to peace-time. As Australia settled into the 1950s and 1960s ‘golden years’ there wasn’t an obvious imperative to tackle basic economic reform and tax design issues. Underlying structural...

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...