One of Ronald Reagan's most controversial economic advisers has been flown to Australia to promote the idea of lower taxes to political and business audiences just two months before the Abbott government's second budget.

Dr Arthur Laffer - whose ideas inspired the Reagan and Thatcher revolutions in the 1980s - has come at the behest of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is one of the loudest proponents of lower corporate tax rates in Australia.

Kate Carnell, ACCI chief executive, said on Monday that Mr Laffer's "economic acumen" and influence in triggering a "world-wide tax-reform movement in the 1980s" could provide valuable lessons for Australia, and his analysis went to the heart of the economic debate about what it meant to stimulate an economy and the source of economic growth.

This debate needs to be held ahead of the Abbott government's white paper on tax reform, she said.

"It may seem counterintuitive, but in some cases lowering tax rates can ultimately lead to more tax revenue for government through stronger economic growth," Ms Carnell said in a statement on Monday.