Will Australia win from new tax rules?

Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Jan-20

The OECD and the Group of 20 are heading an initiative to re-write international tax laws to cope with the digital age. The proposed system could include an effective minimum rate of global tax and the adoption of new global allocation rules. Some countries have sought to act unilaterally in the adoption of digital services taxes on US digital companies like Google and Facebook, but the Trump administration has sought to ‘punish’ such countries by the imposition of tariffs. There are hopes a new international tax system could be in place by the end of 2020, but some tax experts have their doubts.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Asia’s coal hunger to lift exports

Original article by Greg Brown, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-19

Australia’s coal production will grow by 1.4 per cent annually over the next five years, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The nation’s coal output is forecast to top 444 million tonnes in 2024, compared with 409 million tonnes in 2018. Thermal coal exports are forecast to increase from 203 million tonnes to 223 million tonnes over this period, with coking coal shipments to rise from 179 million tonnes to 196 million tonnes. Demand for Australian coal is expected to be driven by nations such as India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Greens MP Adam Bandt has called for legislation to phase out coal exports by 2030, claiming that "coal will kill us".

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, SIEMENS AG

Tax on income, profit world’s second highest

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Dec-19

Australian companies are paying the third-highest share of tax to governments of OECD countries, according to a new tax report from the OECD. It also shows that personal income tax accounts for 40.3 per cent of total government revenue. The report highlights Australia’s heavy reliance on taxes on property, personal income and business profits, and will put pressure on the federal government to undertake major tax reform in order to stimulate the economy.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

IMF vows to do whatever it takes

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 21-Oct-19

The International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2020, after recently scaling back its 2019 growth forecast to three per cent. The IMF’s International Monetary & Financial Committee concluded its annual meeting in Washington on 20 October; it released a communique in which it committed to using all appropriate policy tools to bolster global growth. The communique also acknowledged the need to resolve trade tensions.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BANK OF ENGLAND, WORLD BANK, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

IMF: global growth at decade low

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Oct-19

The International Monetary Fund now expects global economic growth of three per cent in 2019, and has warned of a synchronised global slowdown. The IMF also expects the US-China trade war to reduce global growth by 0.8 per cent over the next two years. Australia’s economic growth forecast for 2019 has been downgraded from 2.1 per cent to 1.7 per cent, prompting shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers to urge the federal government to bring forward its mid-year Budget update. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the domestic economy is still growing faster than all G7 nations except the US.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM slap for UN in new world order

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken of his concern regarding a new order that seeks to give global institutions authority over individual countries in terms of dictating their national policies. Morrison was speaking at the Lowy Institute on 3 October, saying that he needs to focus more on international forces that are shaping Australia’s future. Morrison also said he will visit Indonesia in November for the inauguration of President Joko Widodo, and that he will visit India and Japan in early 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, UNITED NATIONS

IMF warns on housing slide

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Apr-19

The International Monetary Fund is expected to downgrade its forecast for the Australian economy in its latest World Economic Outlook. Thomas Helbling, the IMF’s lead economist for Australia, warns that the nation’s housing market downturn has been more severe than anticipated and it has occured sooner than expected. He says the property market downturn will need to be offset via government policies aimed at stimulating the economy, such as increased investment in infrastructure. Helbling has also raised the possibility of interest rate cuts.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Incomes to be weak for years: IMF

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Feb-19

The International Monetary Fund expects the Australian economy to grow by just 2.6 per cent in 2020, compared with the federal government’s forecast of three per cent growth. The IMF’s forecasts also show that growth in real incomes will average 0.3 per cent annually over the next six years, when adjusted for inflation. This compares with a long-term average of 1.8 per cent since the 1960s. Industry Super Australia’s chief economist Stephen Anthony says the IMF’s forecasts demonstrate the need for both sides of politics to put economic reform on their policy agenda.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, OUTLOOK ECONOMICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Danger of global slide, IMF warns

Original article by David Uren, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jan-19

The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for global economic growth in 2019 from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Chief economist Gita Gop­inath says global economic growth is slowing at a faster pace than had been expected, warning that there is a heightened risk of a more significant downgrade in the IMF’s growth forecasts. The downgrade has coincided with the release of data showing that economic growth in China fell from 6.8 per cent to 6.6 per cent in 2018, its lowest level in almost three decades.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CHINA. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Punishing company tax regime on par with Third World

Original article by David Uren, Chris Griffith
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Jan-19

A new report from the OECD shows that France is the only developed nation with a higher company tax rate than Australia at present. However, the French government intends to reduce its corporate tax rate to 28 per cent, while the Coalition’s tax reform policy has been stalled in the Senate. The OECD report also notes that Costa Rica and Chile are the only countries in the world that have a higher tax rate on new business investment than Australia.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CURIOUS THINGS, MURU MUSIC