Rio defends paying no mining tax
Peter Martin A profits squeeze of historic proportions lies behind the government's deteriorating budget position according to the federal Treasury, which says things have not been as bad since the global...
Coalition voters discover glass half-full
Peter Martin COALITION voters are suddenly confident about the economy, moving clearly into positive territory for the first time in two years.
Coalition voters underpin surge in confidence
Peter Martin Supporters of the Coalition are suddenly confident about the economy, moving clearly into positive territory for the first time in two years.
Peter Martin
How Canberra got diddled
Peter Martin Gathered on one side of the cabinet table were the newly-installed Prime Minister Julia Gillard, her Treasurer Wayne Swan and her Resources Minister Martin Ferguson.
Peter Martin
Labor finally sights the super monster
Peter Martin The select few Australians earning more than $290,000 per annum - a mere 1 per cent of the workforce - rake in an astounding $2 billion in superannuation tax concessions between them, according to...
Labor plans tax rise for highest super earners
Mark Kenny, Peter Martin Labor is considering a plan to increase the tax rate on superannuation earnings for the wealthy after ruling out imposing a new tax on super payouts.
Senate passes motion to force mining tax disclosure
Judith Ireland and Peter Martin The Greens and the Coalition have upped the ante in their bid to see the details of the amount raised by the mining tax.
Greens, Coalition to force mining tax disclosure
Judith Ireland, Peter Martin The Greens and the Coalition will attempt to compel the Tax Commissioner to release previously secret details of the amount raised by the new mining tax when the Senate resumes Wednesday.
Reserve Bank set to rest the knife as conditions and confidence settle
Peter Martin The Reserve Bank board is set to take a breather on Tuesday after slicing almost $2000 from the annual cost of servicing a typical mortgage over the past year.
Peter Martin
Hacker's suicide a warning to those seeking to punish copyright breaches
Peter Martin Harsh penalties for violating websites' terms of service are hugely out of all proportion.
Peter Martin
Legal anvil hovers over the unwary tech user
Peter Martin You sign up for a web service. You violate the terms and conditions. What's the worst that could happen?
It's NOT the economy, stupid
Peter Martin Economics correspondent Peter Martin doesn't expect economics to dominate this year's federal election campaign.
Jobless rate rises in stuttering start to 2013
Peter Martin Australia's jobs market is on the slide with layoffs and unusually weak public service recruitment providing a sobering start to the year.
Economy gets big tick
Peter Martin Months after Labor's mining tax, its carbon tax and its fourth successive budget deficit, Australia has been given the tick of approval by the world's biggest fund manager.
Peter Martin
Be alert and informed and you may pay less
Peter Martin Have you heard about the trick they use in fruit shops? If they want to make money from a large load of lettuce they divide it into two.
Peter Martin
Soft touches pay the price
Peter Martin Retailers know an easy target when they see one and, unfortunately, that's us.
Rising iron ore prices could put budget surplus back on track
Peter Martin An unexpected surge in the global iron ore price has put the budget surplus back within reach.
Howard denies waste, takes credit for fiscal health
Jonathan Swan, Peter Martin THE former prime minister, John Howard, has rejected the charge that his government spent wastefully, saying ''the reason Australia dodged the global downturn was due to the strong fiscal position of...
Howard rejects IMF's 'big spender' tag
Jonathan Swan and Peter Martin Former prime minister John Howard rejects the charge that his government spent wastefully, saying that ''the reason Australia dodged the global downturn was due to the strong fiscal position of the...
Australia's most wasteful spending came in Howard era, finds IMF
Peter Martin AUSTRALIA'S most needless wasteful spending took place under the John Howard-led Coalition government rather than under the Whitlam, Rudd or Gillard Labor governments, a study has found.
