The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data last week showing that Victorians are paying the highest state and local taxes in the nation. As illustrated in the table below, state and local government taxes were $6,348 per capita in 2023-24, $654 (11.5%) higher than the state and territory average. Victoria has also experienced a
Electric vehicles (EVs) receive large subsidies in Australia. First, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for battery EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) is estimated to cost the federal budget more than $550 million in lost tax revenue each year. However, the FBT exemption for PHEVs expired on April 1, 2025. According to the FBT exemption
The ferrous complex continues to struggle. The one hand, the US/China trade freeze is beginning to bite. On the other hand, Beijing is readying more yawnulus. BofA. Politburo meeting pledged to ready emergency plans The Apr Politburo meeting was held on Apr 25. This was the first meeting after theUS tariff hikes that offered high-level
Opinion polls continue to collapse on Peter Dutton and the Coalition ahead of Saturday’s federal election. The latest YouGov polling has the Coalition’s primary vote plunging to just 31%, down from 33% last week, with Labor’s primary vote rising 0.5% to 33.5%. The result is the lowest-ever primary vote the Coalition has received, according to
The Market Ear on the bear market bounce. After the bounce After a 15% run, SPX meets trendline resistance with fading breadth, neutral RSI, and no oversold fuel left. Now it gets harder. Now what? The “easy” part of the bounce is over. Now comes a slightly more tricky setup. SPX is up some 15%
Wall Street ended the trading week on a strong note, continuing the rebound from recent lows after more flopping on tariffs from the Trump regime however a weekend Time interview and further comments out of the White House could unsettle markets again. Friday night saw European stocks also lift higher while the USD firmed against
Earlier this year, Dr Raffaele F. Ciriello, a Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the University of Sydney, claimed corporate elites have hijacked Australian universities. Dr Ciriello’s claims followed a National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) investigation of 545 council positions at 37 universities, which revealed that members from the Big Four accounting firms and
After bouncing following February’s 0.25% interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), momentum in Australia’s housing market has stalled. The Easter long weekend recorded the softest final auction clearance rate since January, with only 57.6% of auctions selling across the combined capital cities. This weekend’s results softened further, recording a preliminary clearance
DXY is up some more. EUR down. AUD looks like it’s sitting on resistance turned support. Led boots stuck fast. Gold and oil pulling back. Metals flaming out. Miners too. EM yawn. Junk has nearly priced out recession. Bad idea! Yields down. Stocks up. The base case is a reversal of risk before long and
DeepT and NG talk about the financial system implications of the Trump tariffs and whether for Australia these are inflationary or deflationary, and the likely response from the RBA. That leads into discussion of whether this can actually lead to more housing construction or rising house prices and the dynamics of that, while bringing