Intergenerational Report 2026 highlights case for tax reform

The 2026 Intergenerational Report (IGR) forecasts that the federal budget will remain in deficit for the next 40 years:

The IGR projects government payments to rise from 26.6% of GDP to 27.7% in 40 years but assumes tax receipts (which account for more than 90% of total receipts) do not exceed a historical high of 24.2%.

“We’re trapped in a vicious cycle of growing government spending and deficits”, JudoBank’s chief economist Warren Hogan warned. “There has been a lack of discipline on spending; the discipline has given way in the past five to 10 years”.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

Share

About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.