0.75% is a a record low, but don't think for a second the Reserve Bank has finished cutting the cash rate

Oct 02, 2019 03:13 am UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks Economy

Anyone who thought that with the Reserve Banks cash rate now close to zero, its run of interest rate cuts was over, needs only to read the last sentence of Governor Philip Lowes announcement after Tuesdays cut: The...

Deeming rates explained. What is deeming, how does it cut pensions, and why do we have it?

Jul 14, 2019 13:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks

Now its the Coalition thats being accused of a retiree tax. As interest rates have come down over the past four years, the rate that retirees are deemed to have earned for the purpose of the pension income test hasnt...

Back-to-back Reserve Bank cuts take interest rates to new low of 1%

Jul 03, 2019 20:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks

The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate by another 0.25 percentage points to a new low of 1%, reflecting continuing concern over the slow economy. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said the latest cut, which...

Ultra-low unemployment is in our grasp. How Philip Lowe became the governor who lifted our ambition

Jul 03, 2019 07:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Rarely does a Reserve Bank governor get to remake Australia. HC Nugget Coombs, the first Reserve Bank governor, did. As director general of the Department of Post-War Reconstruction from 1943, he was instrumental in...

The Reserve Bank will cut rates again and again, until we lift spending and push up prices

Jun 07, 2019 16:11 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks

The Reserve Bank cut interest rates on Tuesday because we arent spending or pushing up prices at anything like the rate it would like. And things are even worse than it might have realised. As the board met in Martin...

Election tip: 23.9% is a meaningless figure, ignore the tax-to-GDP ratio

May 02, 2019 17:52 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Expect to hear a lot about tax during the coming leaders debates. Which is why its important to get two things straight. The first is that you cant argue against a tax by pointing out that it will take money from...

What just happened to our tax? Here's an explanation you'll understand

Apr 05, 2019 10:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Economy

With all the announcements on tax over the past few days its hard to keep track. So here goes. A year ago the then treasurer Scott Morrison unveiled a seven year personal tax. Some of it involved tax cuts way out...