The latest Essential Poll shows that Australian voters do not buy the spruiked economic benefits around cutting the company tax rate or increasing immigration. From The Guardian:
It’s interesting to reflect on what is accepted and what is not. Where the proposition is about trickle-down economics, we are sceptical. Yet when the economic arguments are focussed on intervening at what economists would call the “bottom of the market” – via income tax cuts and wage increases, the public is more receptive.
We are sceptical about the benefits of immigration, yet we are not isolationist, recognising the benefits of trade agreements in improving opportunities for Australian workers.
But on the cornerstone of the Coalition economic strategy – the corporate tax cut – we are just not buying.
Being open to trade has nothing to do with having open borders, so I am not sure why the author has even made the comparison.
Nevertheless, immigration and company tax cuts do appear to be another area where the government (and business) elites are out of touch with ordinary Australians.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
