IMF urges Australia to tackle housing and superannuation taxes | Greg Jericho

The IMF's recent world outlook is far from rosy and predicts a bumpier future unless Australia invests more in infrastructure and changes the tax system

This week the latest IMF World Economic Outlook was released. Once again the news was less than stellar with growth projections downgraded across the board. While the IMF generally sees good foundations for growth in Australia in the years ahead it also sees risks from a slowing China and an overheated housing market. Significantly, it has suggestions for economic policy on taxation and infrastructure that are right in the current political frame.

As a general rule, the IMF outlooks don't have too much to do with Australia. Our economy, while large, is generally on the fringe of issues the IMF cares about in a global sense. But the latest outlook, titled Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices, has Australia positioned right in the middle.

Related: IMF warns of stagnation threat to G7 economies