In this King & Wood Mallesons Podcast, Jerome Tse and Meredith Paynter are joined by Wentworth MP Allegra Spender to discuss tax reform's role in driving productivity growth in Australia.

Ms Spender shares insights from her recent Press Club address, making the case for reform to enable productivity improvement as essential to improving living standards and driving economic growth.

Meredith summarises some key findings from King & Wood Mallesons annual Directions survey, including:

• business leaders are focussed on improving profitability and productivity in a charged political environment
• tax reform is viewed as a key opportunity to enhance productivity
• respondents expressed strong support for abolishing inefficient taxes like stamp duty and payroll tax
• better dialogue between businesses and Government are seen as critical to improving the quality of policy-making processes and outcomes

Exploring these findings, the conversation considers how cost of living issues and wedge-politics have contributed to the current dynamic, as well as what can be done to overcome the challenges.

Ms Spender emphasizes the importance of engaging with the community and businesses and discusses her plans for a green paper on tax reform, aimed at fostering broader discussions and collaboration among all stakeholders.

LINKS:
KWM Directions report 2024
Allegra Spender's National Press Club Address:
- Speech
- Slides
Federal MP Allegra Spender on her career from McKinsey to politics (AFR's 15mins with the Boss podcast)