I would like to talk to you about three things today.Firstly, ramping up our assistance to small business. Secondly, our other Compliance Program priorities for small business and tax agents, and finally a brief look at the tax industry and the future.Supporting Australia's vibrant small...

It has been an exciting six months for me since becoming Commissioner of Taxation in January. I've always been passionate about tax and I guess it can be said that this role suits me to a tee.But for others, I can assure you that the mere mention of the word 'tax' or 'tax administration' will be...

I am delighted to deliver my first formal address in my new role to the Australasian Tax Teachers' Association, an organisation which has provided me with a valuable forum for sharing perspectives and fostering a common interest in taxation. I have had a long association with ATTA and hope to...

The three key theses of this paper are:1. If people have a view of taxation that extends beyond numbers to the broader civil, social and economic benefits that they expect for themselves and for new generations, they will be more likely to shoulder a shared responsibility for the care and...

This paper starts with the proposition that the descriptor, ‘tax reform' can apply to different elements of a tax system. It argues that reforms affecting one aspect of the tax system often, but not always, provide the incentive or opportunity for reform of other components of the tax system....

This paper considers how academia can influence tax policy and administration, highlighting examples where this has occurred. However, overall it concludes that the impact of academia does not appear on its face to have been as substantial as one might have sought. This paper explores the...

Your companies are our partners in growing the prosperity of Australia. Last year large corporates contributed 36% of total tax and 53% of the total GST collections. But just because you are big contributors doesn't mean - ipso facto - that you are high risk; rather you should be commended for...

Both Australia and New Zealand today find themselves facing global economic uncertainty, as well as the more nebulous possibilities inherent in rapid globalisation. While some are faring well, many OECD members have seen significant increases in net government debt, stagnant or slow economic...

As any literary detective will tell you, you can often pin the crime on the right criminal when you work out who among the suspects stood to profit. This idea is in fact ancient: the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca said in the first century AD, 'who profits by a crime commits it.' He also...

How Australians respond to the tough times is a mark of our character. It is a tribute to the resilience of the Queensland community that the focus of people's lives, in many ways at least, is starting to return to normal after not just one but a spate of natural disasters. The fact we are...