Fifty prominent Australians have written an open letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declaring "Australia doesn't need lower taxes" and calling for the federal government to place fairness at the heart of the 2016 federal budget.

The letter is signed by former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser, ACTU president Ged Kearney, former Labor premier Carmen Lawrence, Uniting Church president Stuart McMillan, Nobel prize winner Peter Doherty and a raft of economists and legal and public policy experts. It was published as a full page advertisement in Fairfax newspapers.

It comes as Mr Turnbull prepares to announce the government will push to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, an attempt to reset the political agenda after days of pressure within the Coalition over whether to back a banking royal commission.

The letter asks Mr Turnbull "not to cut taxes at this time - and certainly not for companies".