THE NEWS WRAP: Tourism start-ups set to be boosted by government help for the industry

Start-ups operating in Australia’s $93 billion tourism sector could be boosted by federal government moves to encourage more hotel and resort developments.

The government wants to intervene in state planning processes to aid the tourism sector, which has been hit by the strength of the Australian dollar and cheap airfares.

OECD: mining tax, GST and NBN are all wrong

Australia’s mining tax and GST are both too low, according to a major international report.

The study, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, is also critical of the National Broadband Network, saying that the system runs contrary to “multiple” models used overseas. 

Sham contracting crackdown

The federal government is set to crackdown on sham contracting used by businesses to dodge tax and superannuation obligations. The unions are pressing the government to act on the issue, where an employer classes workers as contractors in order to avoid tax and super payments. 

Markets

The US stock market is looking to rally after finishing Friday on a low, with the Dow Jones Industrial average dropping more than 90 points. The Australian dollar could climb back to parity with the US dollar after spending most of last week above the 100 US cent mark.