An Empirical Note On The Comparative Macroeconomic Effects Of The GST In Australia, Canada And New Zealand

Australia, Canada and New Zealand have a multitude of cultural and economic characteristics in common that facilitates interesting comparisons between them. This short note takes advantage of this shared heritage by providing a brief empirical comparison of the macroeconomic effects of the introduction of the goods and services tax in the three countries. We consider summary data on some selected macroeconomic variables, including various neutrality measures, aggregate consumer price changes, economic growth effects, tax yield effects, and current account balance effects. It is concluded that not only was the GST highly successful in raising tax revenues, but it was also significant in terms of growth effects, price effects, current account effects, and the effect on the budget balance.