Taxation and Government

Kenneth Keith considers several aspects of the relationship between two concerns: the concern about New Zealand's taxation system, and the concern about New Zealand's constitutional arrangement. He considers it important that tax reform is not divorced from some of the more general ideas and principles which might inform change. The author looks back to the 17th century fundamentals of our constitution with their emphasis on parliamentary control of the Crown. The enormous constitutional changes since that time and the great growth in the legal powers and the role of the executive are then discussed. The author notes the lack of control over the making of executive decisions and the principles, particularly against retroactivity, that might be relevant to those decisions. The final topic concerns the subjection of taxation authorities to the law, where the author illustrates the importance of public perceptions to this body of law. Abstract by Juliet Bull