Taxation Reform: Subsidiarity and the AEC Republican Model

The Australian Unity Republic proposes a transformative overhaul of the tax system under the Australian Executive Council (AEC)—a collective head of state comprising the Prime Minister and state/territory Premiers—applying subsidiarity to enhance local decision-making while streamlining national standards. Building on the AEC model from Common Sense (June 2025), Productivity, Republicanism and Improving Whole of Australian Government Efficiency (August 2025), A National Election Day (September 2025), Subsidiarity: Towards an Australian Republic that Improves the Country (September 2025), and Reshaping Honours and Australia's Soul (September 2025), this reform addresses Australia’s tax system’s vertical fiscal imbalance and $6 billion annual compliance cost (Productivity Commission, 2025). Spearheaded by AEC Leaders' Forums, it includes rationalizing federal-state taxes, expanding GST with equity safeguards, phasing out inefficient levies like payroll and stamp duties, and establishing a Tax Coordination Board. Aligned with the Albanese government’s productivity agenda, these reforms could yield $4–6 billion in annual savings, reduce red tape, and boost equity, fostering a republic that makes the country better through fairer resource allocation, local autonomy, and economic growth. Australians will endorse this republic in a 2026 referendum only if convinced it delivers safe, effective improvements—avoiding corruption via collective checks, enhancing subsidiarity for local empowerment, overhauling colonial structures for productivity gains, and enriching cultural life through elder and community investment. Taxation reform exemplifies how the collective head of state enables these outcomes more effectively than the current fragmented system.