Federal Budget
Labor tucks away $77b war chest for further tax cuts
14 May
Tax changes in the budget give the government scope to direct more relief to workers in future, raising the prospect of a 2028 pre-election sweetener. While higher taxes on assets will be returned to workers via tax cuts in the short term, Treasury...[Read More]
Electric car owners dodge road charge but pay more tax
14 May
Australia’s electric car drivers may escape a road-user charge for another year but will pay more tax under measures revealed in the federal budget. The changes are part of several reforms to support low-emission vehicles in the budget, including...[Read More]
Canberra embraces AI data crunch for medicines to tax
13 May
Artificial intelligence will be deployed across the federal government for everything from evaluating medicines to identifying tax fraud in a bid to boost the nation’s productivity. A long list of AI trials were named in the federal budget on...[Read More]
‘These geniuses’: PM’s generational housing gamble
13 May
Anthony Albanese is playing “gutsy” politics with sweeping changes to tax concessions for landlords but risks offending established investors who may not have expected the overhaul, an expert in politics says. From July 2027, negative gearing...[Read More]
Better budget bottom line, higher inflation on the way
18 December
Treasury has updated its economic and fiscal forecasts for the next four years in its mid-year budget update. BUDGET DEFICITS (PREVIOUS IN BRACKETS): * 2025/26 – $36.8 billion ($42.2b) * 2026/27 – $34.3b ($35.4b) * 2027/28 – $36.2b ($27.1b) *...[Read More]
Budget $5.4b better off as Chalmers tightens the belt
18 December
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will unveil a $5.4 billion improvement in the federal budget this financial year, even as the deficit sinks to its worst level in five years. With judicious use of words such as “sensible” and “restraint”, Dr Chalmers...[Read More]
Chalmers spins battery blowout into budget savings
18 December
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has used a $4.9 billion blowout in home battery subsidies to claim the government saved taxpayers $6.7 billion in the mid-year budget update. The battery subsidy program was initially set to cost taxpayers $2.3 billion but the...[Read More]
Budget takes $8.2b hit thanks to black market tobacco
18 December
Australia’s roaring tobacco black market has blown more holes in the federal budget but Treasurer Jim Chalmers continues to stare down calls to tackle the excise driving the trade. In Dr Chalmers’ mid-year budget update released on Wednesday,...[Read More]
Budget focuses on power bills, tax cuts and healthcare
27 March
FEDERAL BUDGET AT A GLANCE * Budget deficit of $27.6 billion this financial year * Commonwealth gross debt to rise to $940 billion (33.7 per cent of GDP) in 2024/25 before cracking $1 trillion the year after * Net debt to rise to $556 billion in...[Read More]
Budget fundamentals smashed as storms cloud outlook
27 March
Australia is on track for structural deficits as far as the government can see, clouding the economy’s final approach to a soft landing. Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ federal budget unveiled on Tuesday night locks in underlying deficits until 2035/36...[Read More]
Your Federal Budget summary
11 May
The Federal Budget at a glance Budget deficit of $13.9 billion in 2023/24 Commonwealth net debt to rise to $574.9 billion (22.3 per cent of GDP) in 2023/24 Economic growth to fall to 1.5 per cent in 2023/24 Unemployment rate to rise to 4.25 per...[Read More]