Is Haig-Simons Still Relevant to Tax Reform in Australia?
Author: Paul Tilley
2025 marks 50 years since Australia’s seminal Asprey review, the 1975 Taxation Review Committee. The Australian tax system was in poor shape and the Asprey report provided a blueprint for reform, seeking an application of the Haig-Simons comprehensive income model. Consistent with other tax reviews internationally, it recommended broadening of tax bases and lowering of tax rates. The Asprey report informed tax reform in Australia for the following 25 years.
The Haig-Simons approach, though, has limitations, necessitating modifications for practical application. Further, 21st Century tax reform thinking has been increasingly influenced by optimal tax theory, with a recognition of the limitations of a pure ‘broaden the base, lower the rates’ mantra. In the face of constraints, it may not always be optimal to tax uniformly. To what extent, then, is the pursuit of Haig-Simons-style comprehensiveness in tax design still relevant?
Does telemedicine technology affect prescribing quality in primary care? The case of antibiotics
Authors: Daniel Avdic, Johannes S Kunz, Susan J Méndez and Maria Wiśniewska
We study the impact of telemedicine technology on antibiotic prescription rates using linked administrative data from Australia on physicians and their patients. We classify physicians by their relative use of remote consultations after the introduction of government-subsidised telemedicine services prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and compare their antibiotic prescribing rates before and after telemedicine services became available. We find that more intense telemedicine adopters prescribe less antibiotics while keeping prescribing quality unchanged. We show that our results are not explained by patient sorting, doctor shopping, or changes in the intensity of consultations.
Charitable Giving with Search Frictions
Author: Ross Hickey
How important are search frictions in the market for charitable donations? I study a dynamic search and matching model to produce new insights for our understanding of the charitable sector. First, the model highlights the role that charity characteristics play in equilibrium donations. Second, charity competition takes the form of a congestion externality. This externality can be influenced by policy instruments like the tax treatment of donations. Finally, empirical support for the model in the form of a charitable giving Beveridge curve is presented.
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