Tax Reform and the Hostile Brothers: Some Random Thoughts for a Presentation

Abstract:     
Tax reform in Australia is a battle between a band of hostile brothers. This band of hostile brothers includes productive capital, finance capital, commercial capital, landlords and the state, fighting among each other for their share of surplus value in the form of profits, interest, commercial income, rent and tax. Surplus value is what is left over, the income if you like, after workers have been paid their wages.

Tax reform in Australia is also an attempt by that band to shift wealth further from labour to capital, using tax reform among a range of other policies to do that.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: Marxism, tax, band, hostile brothers, neoliberalism, Henry Tax Review, profit rates

JEL Classification: H20

working papers series