Federal Budget

2019/20 Federal Budget Report A Budget for the political times tempered by the economic times, is the underlying theme for Budget 2019. With Scott Morrison to call the election within a matter of days, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had to pull a rabbit out of the hat last week and we’ll know by election day whether it’s a live one or not. The strategy was simple; reinforce the Government’s superior economic management with cash hand-outs, restoring the surplus and covering essential services [...]

2018/19 Federal Budget Report If you're the kind of person who loathes surprises, preferring to be fully apprised of impending gifts before birthdays, anniversaries or Christmases, then chances are you would have loved the recent Federal Budget. In fact, if this Budget was a surprise birthday party, the guest of honour would have known weeks in advance. No hushed party guests waiting excitedly in the dark before trumpeting a raucous "Happy Birthday'' to the unsuspecting party girl, or guy. No, Treasurer [...]

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Wayne Swan should still be feeling quietly chuffed. Since Treasurer Scott Morrison handed down his almost Machiavellian political manifesto masquerading as a federal budget last week, much has been made of its giant leap to the left. Hit the banks with a $6.2bn levy ("nobody likes them anyway"), give more money to schools, introduce a 0.5 percent increase in the Medicare levy to help fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme and throw in [...]

The Budget has dominated the headlines this past week. In short, despite the wailings of the media, it's a 'Storm in a Teacup' budget. Bit of extra spending here, a few more tax increases there, the continued promise of an imminent return to surplus and political opportunism at its core. Many of you will have read the facts and figures by now, and have an understanding of the changes. This summary is not a simple reiteration of these facts. As is [...]