{"id":101408,"date":"2025-02-14T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=101408"},"modified":"2025-02-14T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T06:59:16","slug":"australia-is-one-of-the-only-rich-nations-without-this-tax-should-it-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/australia-is-one-of-the-only-rich-nations-without-this-tax-should-it-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia Is One of the Only Rich Nations Without This Tax\u2014Should It Change?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Australia is one of the few OECD nations<\/strong> without an inheritance tax, a distinction that has fueled debates over economic fairness and wealth inequality<\/strong>. While these taxes were abolished in the late 1990s<\/strong>, a growing number of economists and advocacy groups argue that reinstating them could help make the tax system more equitable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report from Anglicare Australia<\/strong> highlights how the absence of an inheritance tax has accelerated inequality<\/strong>, allowing wealth to concentrate among a shrinking percentage of the population. The organization is calling for a tax on large inheritances above $2 million<\/strong>, excluding the family home<\/strong>, to avoid burdening middle-class households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shifting Tax Burden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Australia\u2019s tax system has evolved<\/strong> over the years, placing more pressure on working Australians<\/strong> while allowing wealth-based taxes<\/strong> to remain relatively low. Taxes on capital gains and land ownership<\/strong> contribute far less to government revenue than personal income tax<\/a><\/strong>, in part due to generous concessions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without inheritance taxes, large estates can be passed down virtually tax-free<\/strong>, reinforcing generational wealth gaps<\/strong> and making it harder for those without inherited assets to achieve financial security. Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers<\/strong> argues that this system disproportionately benefits the wealthy while increasing inequality for the broader population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Inheritance Taxes Are Politically Sensitive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the economic case for inheritance taxes, they have remained politically unpopular<\/strong>. The idea has been repeatedly dismissed due to strong public opposition<\/strong> and scare campaigns<\/strong> linking them to so-called “death taxes.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Treasury secretary Ken Henry<\/a><\/strong> acknowledged in his landmark 2009 tax review<\/strong> that a bequest tax<\/strong> could be an efficient way to raise revenue while reducing the need for less effective taxes<\/strong>. However, he stopped short of recommending its introduction, citing the controversial history<\/strong> of inheritance taxation in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Role of Public Perception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Public perception plays a major role in tax policy debates<\/a>, and inheritance tax proposals<\/a><\/strong> are often framed as an attack on average Australians<\/strong>, despite their focus on high-value estates<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Australia Institute chief economist Greg Jericho<\/strong>, these concerns mirror the backlash against superannuation tax reforms<\/strong>, which were designed to impact only the wealthiest account holders but were widely misinterpreted as broad tax increases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe challenge with these types of tax reforms,\u201d Jericho explains, \u201cis that they are easily manipulated into fear campaigns<\/strong>, despite the fact that they would benefit most Australians by reducing inequality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some experts argue that an inheritance tax<\/strong> could improve economic fairness<\/strong>, its political viability remains uncertain<\/strong>. Governments have been reluctant to revisit the issue, knowing that any attempt to reinstate the tax would likely face intense opposition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wealth is quietly shifting in Australia, and the tax system isn\u2019t keeping up. A policy once seen as a solution to inequality was scrapped decades ago, but some say it\u2019s time to bring it back. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taxation","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101408"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101415,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101408\/revisions\/101415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}