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Archived news for May 2010 | Recent news
Ruddism doesn't add up
MALCOLM Fraser, now the darling of the left, has declared the Rudd Government to be worse than the 1972-75 Whitlam Government. Previously, even...
Rudd loses grip on reality
Kevin Rudd's reliance on economic modelling to justify his resource super profits tax (RSP'I) is ironic. Only a year ago he was blaming economic...
A lesson in how not to cook up a birthday cake
John Hewson's GST-on-a-birthday-cake moment is now folklore on how not to sell a new tax. That lesson is something the Rudd government is now...
Rocks in their heads: ministers' miscalculation over resources tax leaves Labour in a hard place
According to the Metals Economics Group, global spending on exploration in 2009 totalled $US8.4 billion. Australia enjoyed 13 per cent of this...
Budget papers fudged to boost Rudd's stimulus effect
"It will always be difficult," said Ken Henry in February 2009, after he was asked whether the government would ever be able to judge the success...
Resource tax digging a hole for rich and poor
Terry McCrann named Labor's proposed Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) the Really Stupid Politicians Tax. RSPT also has a similar ring to British...
The Santa Claus effect
The budgetary crisis afflicting many Western economies is in part a consequence of the democratic political process at work. According to economist...
Mining tax risks spooking investors
Minerals in the ground are not actually worth very much until somebody comes along, digs them up, cleans them up, and sells them on the market. It...
Taxation's violent history
Any change in the tax system is a change in our relationship with the state. But when the Henry tax review was released on Sunday, it was seen as a...
Capitalism is ruining the planet, and pigs might fly
The home insulation program has been scrapped. And the emissions trading scheme has been abandoned. But try not to worry too much. We are all a lot...