Australia can't count on big budget surpluses any more. For most of the past decade, the Treasury has routinely underestimated the size of company tax receipts.
Now, Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has warned the boom days after over.
Radio New Zealand's Sydney correspondent says that means tax receipts could be around $A20 billion lower each year than was the case before the global financial crisis.
Mr Parkinson also commented on Australia's entitlement culture, noting a widening gap between the demands taxpayers place on the federal government and the degree to which they are prepared to dig into their own pockets to fund it.
Put simply, he said taxes will have to rise, otherwise the government will have to find some savings.
