Publications
Our publications are the most important means of contact between the Centre's ideas and its general readership. Since 1976, The Centre for Independent Studies has produced some of the most authoritative publications in Australasian academia. From the influential Lands of Shame to the authoritative Will China Fail? CIS has published hundreds of publications covering topics from the social policy to legal affairs to religion and education.
In addition to books, the CIS publishes a range of shorter publications: Issue Analyses deal with controversial and current issues and Policy Mongraphs investigate and offer policy solutions. Since 1984, Policy magazine has published feature articles and reviews authored by some of the foremost national and international thinkers on public policy and ideas. The quality of writing and the diversity of topics in Policy ensure its status as a 'must read' by leading politicans, businesspeople and academics.
Hard copies of our publications are available for purchase through the bookstore. Many of the smaller publications are also available for download.
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All Tax Publications
TARGET30: Reducing the burden for future generations
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government and cutting government spending to less than 30% of GDP in the next 10...
TARGET30: Towards smaller government and future prosperity
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government, supported by a series of research reports providing policy solutions...
TARGET30 SNAPSHOT: Towards smaller government and future prosperity
TARGET30 is a campaign promoting smaller government, supported by a series of research reports providing policy solutions...
Compulsory Super at 20: ‘Libertarian Paternalism’ Without the Libertarianism
Examines the economic case for compulsory superannuation contributions and questions whether compulsory super is the most...
The Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments
In The Condensed Wealth of Nations, Eamonn Butler condenses Adam Smith’s work and explains the key concepts in The Wealth...
The Henry Tax Review: A Liberal Critique
The public release of Australia’s Future Tax System—known as the Henry review—in May 2010 sparked an ongoing debate...
Future Funds or Future Eaters? The Case Against a Sovereign Wealth Fund for Australia
This paper considers the arguments for and against greater use of a sovereign wealth fund in Australia. It argues that the...
Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel
What started as the US subprime crisis became the global financial crisis and has now developed into the Trans-Atlantic sovereign...
The Decade-long Binge: How Government Squandered Ten Years of Economic Prosperity
Government spending in New Zealand has increased enormously over the past decade in order to meet social goals. From 2000-2010...
Trans-Atlantic Fiscal Follies: The Sequel
The GFC is back. What started as the US subprime crisis became the global financial crisis, which has now developed into...
Australia’s Angry Mayors: How Population Growth Frustrates Local Councils
To understand the effects of a growing population on Australia’s councils, CIS surveyed local authorities from all over...
Taxploitation II: Tax Reform for Incentive,Productivity and Economic Growth
This volume reviews tax reforms implemented since the publication of Taxploitation by the CIS in 2006 and concludes that...
Why Does Government Grow?
This paper examines some of the stylised facts in relation to the growth of government in the Western world generally, and...
FEATURE: Project Wickenby: White Hats at Work, or a Witch Hunt?
The Australian Taxation Office’s aggressive use of its discretionary powers risks injustice for taxpayers.
Ludwig von Mises – A Primer
In Ludwig von Mises – A Primer, Eamonn Butler presents a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the outstanding achievements...
FEATURE: Free and Fair—How Australia’s Low-Tax Egalitarianism Confounds the World
Australia has found a politically viable way of keeping the state relatively small.
Tax Reform – For Economic Growth or Bigger Government?
The long-awaited report on Australia's Future Tax System (the 'Henry review') was released by the government in May 2010....
July 2010 e-PreCIS
The taxpayer smells a rat Tax revolts have some history in Australia, the best known example being the Eureka Stockade....
June 2010 e-PreCIS
The Rudd government’s Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) confirms what Ronald Reagan said about politicians and their view...
Towards a Red Tape Trading Scheme: Treating Excessive Bureaucracy as Just Another Kind of Pollution
Government should measure the regulatory costs on the Australian economy and consider a ‘cap and trade’ scheme to manage...
The Unfinished Business of Australian Income Tax Reform
Robert Carling says the reform agenda for personal income tax should be to cut marginal tax rates; implement automatic indexation...
Reforming Capital Gains Tax: The Myths and Reality behind Australia’s Most Misunderstood Tax
The implications of the Ralph Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reforms vary widely depending on the type of taxpayer, asset class,...
Fiscal Shock and Awe in the United States
The relative economic standing of the United States, and therefore its place in the world, may decline as other less mature...
Ending the Churn: A Tax/Welfare Swap
John Humphreys argues that removing middle-class welfare in exchange for income tax cuts, the government could reduce tax...
FEATURE: Ten Principles for Tax Reform
Australia's tax system needs principles that go beyond efficiency, equity and simplicity.
Fiscal Rules for Limited Government: Reforming Australia’s Fiscal Responsibility Legislation
The paper outlines the rationale for fiscal responsibility legislation and a rules-based approach to fiscal policy. It examines...
FEATURE: Revealing Australia's Real Income Tax Rates
Before we can consider tax reform options, it is necessary to have accurate information about the current tax system. Unfortunately,...
Are We All Keynesians Again?
The revival of activist fiscal policy ought to be highly controversial because the 1970s and 1980s saw a new consensus emerge...
Beyond Symbolism: Finding a Place for Local Government in Australia's Constitution
Local governments could provide better services, like schools and fast development approvals if they received a higher proportion...
The Faulty Arguments Behind Australia’s Corporate Tax
This paper investigates Australian corporate tax and highlights a number of issues that deserve greater public awareness.
State Tax Reform: Progress and Prospects
This paper analyses the state taxation issues in further detail. After reviewing various reform options, it outlines the...
Fiscal Illusion: How Big Government Makes Tax Look Small
Sinclair Davidson in this paper canvasses an issue that cuts across all taxes and all levels of government: fiscal illusion...
Exploring a Carbon Tax for Australia
It is not a foregone conclusion that we need a carbon trading scheme or a carbon tax. Humphreys provides much food for thought...
Tax Competition: Much To Do About Very Little
Sinclair Davidson challenges the notion of ‘harmful’ international tax competition. He argues that in the sphere of taxation,...
Tax Earmarking Is It Good Practice?
This Monograph critically analyses the use of earmarked (or ‘hypothecated’) taxes in Australia.
The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away: Tax Welfare Churning and the Case for Welfare State Opt-Outs
Australians are more prosperous than ever before, so the number of people needing government assistance should be falling....
State Taxation and Fiscal Federalism: A Blueprint for Further Reform
This paper identifies major structural flaws in our current taxation system and develops a set of radical proposals to put...
Why Tax Cuts Are Good for Growth
In the wake of the government’s $11 billion budget surplus, cutting taxes could deliver a significant boost to the economy....
How to Fix a Leaky Tax System
The New Zealand tax system has become complicated and unfair, and its integrity corroded by the introduction of a 39%...
FEATURE: Our Treasurer Should Cultivate an Irish Lilt
Australia could learn from Ireland's corporate tax system.
Taxploitation: The Case for Income Tax Reform
In this book edited by Peter Saunders, 10 authors explain why and how Australia's system of personal income tax needs reforming.
Are New Zealanders Paying Too Much Tax?
New Zealand is a highly taxed country on a global scale and has record budget surpluses. The past decade has seen huge increases...
Twenty Million Future Funds
The government’s claim that we need a Future Fund to pay for public servants’ superannuation is bogus. In fact, the Future...
Reform 30/30: Rebuilding Australia’s Tax and Welfare Systems
John Humphreys has a vision of how the tax and welfare systems could be refashioned to break through the dispiriting problems...
Are There Any Good Arguments Against Cutting Income Taxes?
Sinclair Davidson explains why, in a sharply ‘progressive’ tax system like ours, tax cuts that appear to favour high...
The Costs of Taxation
The question the government needs to ask is not whether it can do good through more spending, but is whether the relentless...
The $85 Billion Tax/Welfare Churn
Given the government’s newly-won control of the Senate, most attention is focused primarily on the next 18 months, but...
How Highly Taxed Are We? The Level and Composition of Taxation in Australia and the OECD
Rather than establishing the case for even higher taxes on earnings, a careful analysis of OECD statistics shows what many...
The Very Idea of a Flat Tax
Lauchlan Chipman questions a key principle that has long been embedded in our system of taxation and which most Australians...
Will You Still Vote for Me in the Morning? Why Politicians Aren’t Rushing to Increase Taxes
Norton’s review of the evidence does not indicate the existence of a population keen to pay more tax. The politicians know...
Who Pays the Lion’s Share of Personal Income Tax?
Davidson’s paper performs a service by exposing the absurdities of some of the claims that are being made about who pays...
FEATURE: Out of the Tax Wilderness
The rule of law is collapsing in the Australian tax system. Geoffrey de Q. Walker suggests some ways to rebuild it.
Tax Reform to Make Work Pay
We are paying more tax than ever before. Australia’s tax burden is higher than in the United States and Japan, taxes on...
The Taxation of Shared Family Incomes
Terry Dwyer’s paper makes a compelling case for recognising family income sharing for tax purposes, and his arguments and...
The Tax Wilderness How to Restore the Rule of Law
The importance of Geoffrey Walker’s paper is that it shows the price we are paying as a nation for government’s failure...
Poverty in Australia: Beyond the Rhetoric
This report challenges prevailing definitions and measurements of poverty, and calls for an alternative strategy for poverty...
Michael in a Muddle: Michael Pusey’s Bungled Attack on Economic Reform
Andrew Norton reveals many serious errors of fact and logic in his detailed critique of Michael Pusey's new book, The Experience...
Taxing the family : Australia's forgotten people in the income spectrum
Over the last two decades, the tax burden has shifted from taxpayers without to taxpayers with dependent children. While...
FEATURE: The 'Fair Go' in Australia: Popular Support for Taxing and Spending
Are Australians prepared to tolerate higher taxes in return for increased social services as welfare lobbyists often assume?
COMMENT: Renewing the Social Fabric: Mutual Obligation and Work for the Dole
Nearly everything the Coalition Government does is challenged on the suspicion that it is trying to reduce spending in order...
Behavioural Poverty
The welfare debate is bedeviled by the failure to distinguish behavioural from financial poverty. The minimum income available...
FEATURE: Reforming State Taxation
Assessing options for tax changes at the state level.
Tax Injustice: Keeping the Family Cap-in-Hand
There is a growing awareness of financial pressure on the family, together with anomalies in the interaction of family earnings,...
COMMENT: GST: Reform Requires a Political Champion
Momentum continues to build for the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST).
FEATURE: The Hidden Costs of a GST- An International Perspective
GST compliance costs are likely to fall especially heavily on small businesses.
SCHOOLS' BRIEF: Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy has reassumed prominence in macroeconomic policy making since the election of the Coalition Government in March...
FEATURE: Special Events- Are They Beneficial?
The cost to taxpayers of the Gold Coast Indycar Grand Prix.
REVIEW ARTICLE: Reviewing the Australian Legend
The Nervous Nineties: Australian Cultural Life in the 1890s by John Docker (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1991.) Intruders...
BOOK REVIEW: Taxpayers Beware!
The Case for Earmarked Taxes: Government Spending and Public Choice by Ranjit S. Teja and Barry Bracewell Milnes (Institute...
SCHOOLS' BRIEF: Australia's Savings Performance
An analysis of the determinants of saving, arguing that the appropriate level of saving would flow from sustained economic...
NOTES & COMMENTS: The Tariff
The Tariff: An Expensive But Hidden Subsidy.
FEATURE: The Compliance Costs of Income Taxation in Australia
The compliance costs of income taxation incurred by Australian individuals and companies are relatively high, indicating...
BOOK REVIEW: Soaking the Rich
A Capital Gains Tax for New Zealand by Rick Krever and Neil Brooks (Institute of Policy Studies, 1990.)
FEATURE: The Tax File Number Scheme: Political Assurances versus Function Creep
When the Australian federal government withdrew its Australia Card proposal in 1987, it resolved to enhance the Tax File...
FEATURE: Some Doubts About a Consumption Tax
The introduction of a broad-based consumption tax in Australia is widely regarded as inevitable. Terry Dwyer and John Logan...
FEATURE: How To Cut Public Spending
Government ministers claim that public spending cannot be further reduced without harming the welfare of the Australian people....
Enterprise: Free, Dependent or Captor?
The relationship between government and business is the theme of this essay. Each depends on the other, and each uses the...
The Resource Rent Tax. A Penality of Risk Taking
We see no evidence that the Australian resources industries are not competitive. Therefore if the RRT were a true resources...
The Entreprenuer in Society
These papers explore the role of the entreprenuer in society.
Lessons from the Ord
The Ord Scheme, indeed, offers ample ammunition for those who take the extreme view that responsibility is directly proportional...
Taxation, Inflation and the Role of the Government
In this publication, the proceedings of a seminar conducted by the Centre for Independent Studies, Milton Friedman is joined...
