The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Friday, July 2, 2010

The RSPT, which I called a dead-tax-walking a while ago, has now been officially put in the electric chair

The RSPT will be consigned to the text books as a case study in how not to develop and release policy. Gone is the 40% threshold, the 40% loss-sharing offset, the circa 6% benchmark rate (it will now be govt bonds + 7%), and the application to all resources (now just iron ore, coal, onshore petroleum, and gas). Read about it here. You can also read my original take, with 146 comments, here.
at 5:38 AM