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The Economic Reform Roundtable is being held from 19–21 August and is aimed at addressing productivity gaps and building economic resilience.
Led by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, there are three key themes that will shape the discussion:
- Making our economy more productive.
- Building resilience in the face of global uncertainty.
- Strengthening the budget and making it more sustainable.
In anticipation of the event, industry figures have provided submissions to help steer reform and strengthen Australia’s economy.
Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA)
In its submission, the broker association’s recommendations addressed tax reform.
With the desire of creating a “more efficient, sustainable and equitable tax system for Australia,” the MFAA called for:
- Reform GST to grow revenue – increase the GST rate to 15 per cent and broaden its base to include exempt goods and services, such as fresh food, health, and education, to generate greater revenues.
- lncentivise states to abolish inefficient taxes – remove stamp duty to stimulate turnover of housing stock and provide support to housing sector-related businesses.
- Payroll tax reform as a priority – modernising and harmonising the regime is a necessary first step, but longer term, the best outcome for economic growth and jobs would be its complete removal.
- Introduce permanency to the instant asset write-off scheme, so businesses can plan and execute on capital investments to grow their business.
Westpac
The major bank provided a list of recommendations relating to tax reform, housing, energy, regional areas, AI, and regulation.
CEO Anthony Miller said AI should be harnessed to speed up development approvals, and upfront development costs should be deferred to get more people into houses quicker.
He also said more attention should be placed on the regions to boost infrastructure to support population growth.
Miller believes there is an opportunity to upskill Australia’s workforce in AI capability to meet the demand. However, guardrails must be applied. Westpac also called for government data to be shared in the Consumer Data Right.
Business Council of Australia (BCA)
A coalition of 27 groups representing Aussie businesses provided a submission. The four key areas addressed by the BCA were:
- Boosting investment and innovation.
- Reducing red tape through better regulation.
- Improving planning and major project approvals.
- Kick-starting comprehensive tax reform.
Housing Industry Association (HIA)
In its submissions, the housing body placed an emphasis on boosting home building activity to address the housing crisis.
Red tape and regulation were seen as major barriers to achieving housing targets, said HIA managing director Jocelyn Martin.
She called for the reduction of complexity of the National Construction Code, reformation of planning systems, and urged the government to create a more attractive environment for investment in housing, particularly in the multi-residential sector. She also called for the reduction of taxes on new builds.
