TAX REFORM

The Problem — Three Tax System Failures

Bracket Creep & Complexity

Tax-free threshold frozen at $18,200 since 2012. Bracket creep taxes workers harder every year without a vote. Compliance costs $50 billion per year. Most Australians cannot lodge their own return without paying someone.

Capital to Housing, Not Industry

Negative gearing and the 50% CGT discount funnel billions into property speculation. Capital that should build factories and create jobs chases house prices instead. First home buyers lose. Manufacturing loses. The shape of the tax code dictates the shape of the economy — and ours is shaped wrong.

Multinationals & Banks Pay Nothing

A third of large corporates paid zero tax in 2022–23. The big four banks extract $30B+ in annual profit. Trusts distribute income to dodge marginal rates. Gambling undertaxed. Foreign owners bank land empty. A tax system that exempts the wealthiest while crushing the worker is not a fair country.

The MMP Solution

$50K Tax-Free — Day One

First $50,000 tax-free for every Australian — legislated immediately. No phase-ins, no means testing. Save $6,967/yr at $60K · $9,967/yr at $100K · $13,717/yr at $150K. Bracket creep below $50K eliminated permanently.

30% Flat Rate — Falling to 20%

Above $50K: one rate, 30%. No brackets, no cliff faces. Reduces 1% per year over a decade as REL revenues and the Sovereign Wealth Fund grow. Target 20% by Year 10 — subject to budget, reported publicly each year. No games.

GST 12% — Essentials Exempt

Fresh food, health, education, medicine — all exempt. 2% increase on already-taxable goods only. ~$16B/yr additional revenue. Low-income households compensated by the $50K threshold and the Citizen Dividend. The GST does the work that bracket creep currently does — but with everyone able to see exactly what's happening.

25% Corporate Tax

Corporate rate reduced to 25% — below the current 30% — to drive investment into Australian manufacturing and infrastructure. Capital should build industry, not chase existing property. The rate signals where we want money to go.

50% Bank Profit Levy

The big four banks extract over $30 billion in annual profit from Australian households. A 50% levy on bank profits redirects a fair share back to the nation. Revenue funds public services. Full detail in the Banking Reform one-pager.

CGT — Capital Back to Industry

CGT on property: 30% — the 50% discount abolished. CGT on shares and business assets: 25%. Deliberately asymmetric. Capital steered to factories, manufacturing, and SBC corridors — not existing housing stock.

Negative Gearing — Ring-Fenced

Rental losses deductible against rental income only — not wages. Grandfathered for existing investors so no-one is dispossessed by the change. Billions currently subsidising speculation redirected to manufacturing and productive industry.

Multinationals & Trusts — Closed

OECD Pillar Two transfer pricing. Thin capitalisation reduced. Trust distributions taxed at the actual marginal rate of the controller — income splitting closed. Public beneficial ownership register mandatory for all corporate entities. ATO properly resourced for top-200 audits.

Resource Extraction Levy — 50%

$40–80 billion per year from sovereign resources above normal return. Funds the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SBC corridors, the income tax rate reduction pathway, and — from Year 5 — the Citizen Dividend. Detail in the REL one-pager.

Current Failure vs MMP Fix

Current — The Failure	MMP — The Fix
Tax-free threshold $18,200 — frozen since 2012. Bracket creep every year.	$50,000 tax-free Day One. Save $6,967 at $60K. $13,717 at $150K.
Five-bracket income tax with cliff faces at $45K, $135K, $190K.	One flat rate above $50K. 30% falling to 20% over a decade.
Corporate tax 30% — effective rate far lower for large players.	25% corporate rate — drives productive investment into industry over housing speculation.
Big four banks extract $30B+ in annual profit — lightly taxed.	50% levy on bank profits. A fair share returned to fund public services.
Negative gearing subsidises property speculation at $5B+/yr.	Ring-fenced to same asset class. Grandfathered. Billions redirected to manufacturing.
50% CGT discount rewards property over productive investment in business.	CGT 30% property · 25% shares and business. Capital steered to industry.
Trusts distribute income to low-rate beneficiaries — fraction of wage earner rates.	Trust distributions at actual marginal rate. Income splitting closed.
Multinationals shift billions offshore — a third paid zero tax in 2022-23.	Pillar Two · beneficial ownership register · ATO resourced for top 200 avoiders.