New Zealand is currently the only member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) without a formal, comprehensive regime in place for taxing the capital gains made by its personal and corporate residents. Being the outlier is insufficient justification for...

This article proposes the abolition of the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount for personal taxpayers and its replacement with a non-cumulative annual tax-free threshold for the taxation of capital gains. This reform, it is argued, would considerably enhance the equity, efficiency and...

This article explores the tax compliance costs — those costs incurred by taxpayers or third parties, such as businesses, in meeting the requirements laid upon them in complying with a given structure and level of tax — that New Zealand could expect to encounter if a capital gains tax (CGT)...

Justice Edmonds has been involved in a large number of cases which directly or indirectly involve the provisions dealing with the taxation of capital gains in Australia. It is argued that his Honour’s contribution in these cases has been considerable and significant. Above all, his judgments...

It has long been accepted that taxing consumption, property and labour can be much more efficient than taxing more mobile factors such as capital. As a result, revenue authorities have increasingly built significant parts of their tax systems upon such tax bases, and often tended to downplay the...

This paper reports upon one aspect of a broader study into the impact of tax design on the compliance costs of the tax system. The focus of this paper is on a survey of Australian tax practitioners which was conducted in order to establish their attitudes to compliance cost issues relating to...

The Australian Capital Gains Tax' ("CGT") is now well established, but cannot be taken for granted. It was introduced primarily for reasons of equity, although there were also strong efficiency arguments identified in its favour. Most commentators would accept that the criterion of simplicity...