The nuisance cost of tariffs
This research paper was released on 5 August 2022. The report argues that in Australia’s low tariff-rate environment, the costs of the tariffs arise primarily from the complexity of the tariff system rather than from distortions to the economy.
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The Nuisance Cost of Tariffs (PDF - 1496 Kb)
The Nuisance Cost of Tariffs (Word - 4360 Kb)- Preliminaries: Cover, Copyright and publication detail, Contents, and Acknowledgments
- Executive summary
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1. What this study is about
- 1.1 Scope
- 1.2 Organisation of the report
- 1.3 Conduct of the study
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2. The tariff system
- 2.1 Statutory tariffs, preferences and concessions
- 2.2 Using tariffs
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3. Fiscal implications of tariffs
- 3.1 Revenue implications of Australia’s tariff policy
- 3.2 Administration costs
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4. Economic implications of tariffs
- 4.1 Compliance costs of avoiding tariffs
- 4.2 Distortions and costs to the economy
- 4.3 Overall assessment of economic costs
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5. Why the nuisance costs of tariffs matter
- 5.1 What do Australia’s tariffs cost?
- 5.2 Costs and revenues, now and in future
- A. Consultation
- B. Estimating administration costs
- C. Estimating preferential trade agreement-related compliance costs
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- References
