Australia will release the results of the Henry tax review by the time the federal budget is released in the middle of this year, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said yesterday.
“We are going through that in a careful and considered way,” Swan said on Australian Broadcasting Corp television.
Last year’s budget was released May 12.
“There will be plenty of time for debate and it will be released by budget time,” he said.
Australia needs a fairer and simpler tax system to improve productivity and the tax review, headed by Australian Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, will provide a 10-year plan for reform, Swan has said. Australia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the central bank’s decision to boost interest rates for the fourth time in five meetings.
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Glenn Stevens, the first G20 central banker to increase interest rates this year, says Australia’s economy is running at or near “trend” after skirting last year’s global recession. Swan said last month he was confident the economy is strengthening after last year’s global recession.
The nation’s GDP rose 0.9 percent from the three months through September as companies increased investment. GDP is forecast by the central bank to climb 3.25 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, after gaining an annual 2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source