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22 December 2024
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Australia's bloated government sector is every bit as responsible for our economic worries as the cost of living crisis. Grand schemes like the 'Future Made in Australia' only look set to make it worse.
British colonisation's Common Law system contributed to economic prosperity, in contrast to Latin America's lower wealth under Civil Law. It influenced capitalism's success in former British colonies, like Australia.
Less affordable housing isn't the only thing set to weigh on Australia's younger generations. If new solutions for pension deficits and the use of resource revenue aren't found quickly, tomorrow's taxpayer will foot the bill.
China's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine has deepened their strategic partnership, challenging the West and reshaping global power dynamics, despite their complex historical relationship and differing long-term interests.
SMSF trustees want control over their investments and think they can perform better than professional investors. Claims of an impending fall are not supported by the data, and older trustees are investing even more.
Like negative gearing, discounted capital gains tax, especially on residential investment properties, is criticised for giving investors an edge over first-home buyers. A discount is justified but at what level?
Although the headlines focus elsewhere, the major conclusions of the Reserve Bank Review describe the need for a complete overhaul of the culture and structure. The culture club within the Bank will make you cry.
No entity holds a consolidated view of the taxable income of super, not even the ATO. So Treasury and the Treasurer adopted a simple method to impose a new tax, and the adverse consequences then started to surface.
Treasury might not realise, but it's not a 30% tax, it's a completely new tax. And payment will not be due until FY28. Taxing unrealised gains will have major implications and the lack of indexing must change.
The Government rushed a decision to increase tax on super balances above $3 million. Although the effective date is after the next election, the big surprise is including unrealised capital gains in earnings.
Six years on, the Labor Government used exactly the same words that Treasurer Scott Morrison said in 2016. Before changes in super rules, we are promised "stability and certainty", but the top 1% is too tempting.
The Federal Budget may not have been the most exciting, but it's got a number of implications for superannuation. Here's a summary of what was included and excluded, as well as what was new and what wasn't.
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
The Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
The Big Four banks have had an extraordinary run and it’s left income investors with a conundrum: to stick with them even though they now offer relatively low dividend yields and limited growth prospects or to look elsewhere.