1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Improving Taxes and Transfers in Australia

Getting tax and transfer systems to efficiently deliver sufficient revenues to achieve macroeconomic targets, address goals in re-distribution and social welfare, encourage employment, accommodate business-competitiveness concerns and incorporate environmental issues is difficult. In Australia, slowing economic growth in the wake of the mining boom has sharpened the trade-offs and brought into focus the importance of encouraging broad-based advances in employment and productive capacity while also dealing with other long-term challenges, in particular population ageing and greenhouse-gas emission reduction. This review particularly recommends shifting away from income taxation to indirect taxation, for instance by raising more revenue from the Goods and Services Tax. The report also advises caution in some recent welfare-reform proposals, and advocates broad support for business rather than targeted subsidies and other forms of corporate welfare. As regards environmental policies, the report comments on the proposed Emission Reduction Fund for reducing greenhouse gases and supports reform to vehicle-related taxation. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of Australia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-australia.htm).

English

Keywords: transfers, welfare, carbon tax, income tax, indirect tax, subsidies, pensions, taxation, taxes, goods and services tax, corporate tax
JEL: H21: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency; Optimal Taxation; H26: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Tax Evasion and Avoidance; H29: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation and Subsidies: Other; H22: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence; H27: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenues: Other Sources of Revenue; H23: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies; H24: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; H20: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General; Q58: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Environmental Economics: Government Policy; H25: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Business Taxes and Subsidies
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