A whopping 115 taxes, all of which have to be administered, interpreted and complied with, account for just 10 per cent of the state and federal governments' take.

We were told 20 years the GST would fix this problem.

Pressure is now mounting from groups as diverse as the Australian Council for Social Services and the Business Council of Australia for reforms to bring taxation into the 21st century.

Possible ways forward were detailed in a PricewaterhouseCoopers tax plan released to Fairfax over the weekend. It claimed up to $8 billion a year was being lost as a result of the flaws.

The plan called for the tax-free threshold to be scrapped and for tax brackets to be replaced by a progressive increase in tax rates per $1000 of income.

While the practicalities of the measures proposed would need to be looked at carefully, this is an excellent opportunity for a government in search of a narrative ahead of what will be a fiercely contested election to pick up the ball and run with it.

It is, after all, less than a week since Peter Costello effectively accused the Morrison Government of having lost its way on economic matters.

Yes, there has been a lot of talk about company tax; yes, there have also been moves to amend the way in which GST payments are distributed; and, yes, the Morrison government finally removed the so-called "tampon tax" that has been alienating female voters for decades.

But none of these is a major reform. The last time we had a root and branch overhaul of the way the government goes about collecting money from the people for the people was when John Howard introduced the GST.

Even that was bungled. Many states and territories, while happy to pocket the GST revenue, are still dragging their feet on the abolition of stamp duty and other indirect taxes it was supposed to replace.

It is now eight years since the Henry tax review highlighted inefficiencies within the tax system. This issue has been left in the "too-hard" basket by a succession of governments for far too long.

That cannot continue. In 40 years there will only be 2.7 workers for every person over 65. 40 years ago that was 7.5 workers for each retiree. It's now five to one.

We will also have to contend with the changing nature of work as a result of technological change and automation. Careers are no longer for life and it is not unusual for some individuals to be working two or three jobs interspersed with extended periods off for travel or other pursuits.

All of our attempts to create a highly functional and streamlined economy are doomed to failure while the tax system remains rooted in the 19th century.

We must go back to first principles and ask "how much money does government need?" and "what is the most equitable and efficient way to collect that?".

Let's start the conversation.