Treasury head says tax reform critical

A "tax-mix switch" must be central to overhauling the Australian economy, federal Treasury Secretary John Fraser says.

Speaking to the Sydney Institute on Thursday night, Mr Fraser steered well clear of questions on lifting the GST, but insisted a tax overhaul was badly needed.

Mr Fraser said current tax receipts were "massively" lower than forecast just three years ago, while the country's net debt was reaching levels not seen since the early 1990s.

He said Australia mustn't shy away from overhauling competition policy, improving productivity and tackling tax reform.

"Simply increasing the overall tax burden to raise more revenue is, I believe, not the answer," he said.

"It runs the real risk of distorting economic incentives and lowering international competitiveness with negative impacts on investment growth and job creation."

Mr Fraser said reprioritising spending across government departments must also form a key plank to achieving structural savings.