Good afternoon.
Paul Keating has urged Labor to stick to its guns on controversial changes to capital gains tax, warning that exempting commercial assets from the changes would further “distort” the economy.
Small businesses and the startup sector are fighting the Albanese government over its plans to shift the 50% capital gains tax discount to an inflation-based model, part of a suite of tax reforms announced in this month’s federal budget.
In the lead-up to Labor introducing legislation for the changes to parliament on Thursday, Australia’s 24th prime minister said settings in place since 1999 had badly hurt the productive economy, as financial resources were diverted to housing, particularly established property.
“This had a major and deleterious impact on investment and with it productivity,” Keating told Guardian Australia on Wednesday.
“The government has done the right thing on housing but it is imperative that the CGT change doesn’t create a new and further distortion to the economy by exempting all other assets, particularly commercial ones.
“The shift in capital taxation under the new arrangements is so marginal that no entrepreneurial initiative is likely to be thwarted by it.”
Top news
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Inflation eases to 4.2% but interest rate rise still on horizon, economists warn
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Justin Stevens resigns as ABC director of news after four years in role
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Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in heated Texas primary after scandal-plagued campaign
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Another day in Florida: RFK Jr posts video of him wrestling two snakes
In video
Researchers racing to document Oceania’s last tropical glaciers found the remaining “eternal snow” in Indonesia’s West Papua region has lost almost all its ice, and captured sombre footage of “planetary destruction on fast-forward”.
You can see more pictures of the expedition here.
What they said …
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“That is bonkers that you would be saying you can be a podcast, can be sponsored by a gambling company, you can have it in the intro, but you can’t play that to someone if they’ve opted out.” – David Pocock.
The Independent senator was left bemused as it was confirmed live read podcast sponsorships would be included in proposed online advertising restrictions to gambling ads.
Under the proposed restrictions, streaming platforms can only carry gambling ads for users who are over 18 and have logged in, and must allow users to opt out of seeing or hearing such advertisements.
Full Story
The death penalty returns to Israel
As the Guardian’s senior Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, explains, for decades Israel had an effective moratorium on capital punishment. Yet in the past two months it has passed two laws around the death penalty – to be applied seemingly only to Palestinians.
Annie Kelly asks about this new era of the Israeli justice system and whether there are any dissenting voices in the country against it.
Before bed read
Japan’s feline fixation has become an industry worth billions, with the animal’s influence evident in every corner of society; Tokyo even has its own “cat town”. Justin McCurry explains the rise of “catnomics”.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SOLI. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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