The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Interested in a Corporate TUD+ Membership? Access premium content, site tours, event discounts and networking opportunities
Interested in a Corporate Membership? Access exclusive member benefits today
Enquire NowEnquire
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Partner Lab
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
OtherStaff WriterTue 13 May 14

Urbis Think Tank Presents: 2014 Federal Budget Brief

TUD+ MEMBER CONTENT
F
SHARE
print
Print

As expected, the Coalition Government brought down a tough Australian Budget, designed to deliver ‘credible budget repair’.

Yet despite the wide range of spending cuts and revenue raising measures, new expenditure initiatives mean that the 2014 Federal Budget remains in deficit over the forward estimates period, albeit marginally, at $2.8 billion or 0.2% of GDP in 2017-18.

The theme of this Budget is ‘sharing the burden of adjustment’, but there is no doubt the biggest burden falls on individuals and the public sector. Measures include:

  • an increase in the tax rate for high income earners (raising on average an extra $3,000 a year from the 3.5% highest paid Australians)

  • a wide range of reductions or freezes in, and tightened eligibility criteria for, transfer payments including for youth, seniors and families

  • dramatic cuts in the number of Federal Government agencies and public sector employees, to deliver an increased ‘efficiency dividend’

  • sharp reductions in industry assistance.

  • Although there have been harsher Budgets in Australia’s past, and expectations had been set well in advance of the delivery of the 2014 Budget, it would be naive to think that this particular Budget will not have some adverse impact on consumer sentiment and spending patterns, at least in the short term.

Business confidence, on the other hand, will likely be buoyed by the foreshadowing of lower company tax rates (timing yet to be confirmed) and the removal of the carbon tax (which still has to be navigated through Parliament).


  • a 1.5% cut in the company tax rate

  • deregulation of university fees, and removal of Gonski funding after 2017-18

  • reintroduction of indexation of the fuel excise levy

  • an increase in the retirement age to 70, for those born after 1965

  • co-payments for a range of medical services

A number of proposed measures will need to be passed by the Senate and so some aspects of the Budget remain a work in progress. The paid parental leave scheme appears to have been sidelined for the moment.

Overall, this is a difficult Budget to digest. It contains some undoubtedly tough measures, but also some that represent a tightening up of the so-called ‘middle class welfare’ which has become an entrenched feature of Australia’s tax and transfer landscape. Harsher measures are also accompanied by potentially productivity- enhancing initiatives, chiefly around infrastructure investment and privatisation.

Australia’s fiscal position, while far from in a state of crisis, nevertheless requires some medium term adjustment, which if postponed will make the task even harder. The jury will remain out for some time on how well this Budget goes towards achieving that adjustment and – most critically – what the cost of adjustment will be in terms of overall economic health.

For the further information and breakdown of the Federal budget please click on this link. 

OtherInfrastructureAustraliaOpinion
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
"TheUrbanDeveloper.com is committed to delivering the latest news, reviews, opinions and insights into the best of urban development from Australia and around the world. "
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Anthony and Paul Mancini HERO TEMP
Exclusive

Adapt or Die: How Mancini Pulled Back from the Brink

Leon Della Bosca
8 Min
Elanor Investors Tweed Mall masterplan
Exclusive

Tweed Marks Time as $900m Mall Redevelopment Goes Quiet

Renee McKeown
6 Min
High-density residential construction in Melbourne
Exclusive

Stabilising Conditions in Melbourne Bring Hopes of Improved Feasibility

Leon Della Bosca
6 Min
QBCC project trust accounts hero
Exclusive

Developers Warned as Commission Cracks Down on Subbie Pay Scheme

Clare Burnett
7 Min
Urban Infill site at Tonsley SA
Exclusive

SA Grapples with ‘Development Killer’ Carparking Law Changes

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
View All >
the view to Victor Harbor in Greater Adelaide.
Residential

Bill Unlocking 61,000 Home Sites Passes in South Australia

Renee McKeown
Balmain Leagues Club EDM
Residential

Perifa’s Ex-Balmain Leagues Plan Clears Final Hurdle

Clare Burnett
Coliving Chippendale EDM
Residential

Plans for $31m Co-Living PBSA in Sydney CBD Revealed

Clare Burnett
As well as Buddhist student living plans, a 19th-century warehouse conversion has been proposed in the latest wave of co…
LATEST
the view to Victor Harbor in Greater Adelaide.
Residential

Bill Unlocking 61,000 Home Sites Passes in South Australia

Renee McKeown
2 Min
Balmain Leagues Club EDM
Residential

Perifa’s Ex-Balmain Leagues Plan Clears Final Hurdle

Clare Burnett
3 Min
Coliving Chippendale EDM
Residential

Plans for $31m Co-Living PBSA in Sydney CBD Revealed

Clare Burnett
3 Min
GPT/QuadReal First Partnership EDM
Industrial

GPT, QuadReal’s $1bn Deal Joins Rush for Aussie Logistics

Clare Burnett
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbis-think-tank-presents-2014-federal-budget-brief