Taxation Compliance Costs : Some Lessons from 'Down-under'

This paper describes the principal outcomes of research conducted to establish an estimate of the total compliance costs faced by taxpayers in Australia paying Federal taxes. It also draws comparisons between those costs and compliance costs in other OECD countries, particularly the United Kingdom. The costs differ, and an attempt is made to explain the difference and some tentative conclusions are drawn concerning the role of self assessment in the levels of compliance costs experienced in the United Kingdom and Australia