In 2008 the Australian government announced that a major tax review would be undertaken (the Henry Review) to consider the future of the Australian tax system in the light of the challenges of the 21st century. That review is due to be completed by the end of 2009. There have been a large number...

Traditionally the topic of tax avoidance, or how to contain it, has not been a central focus of the public finance literature. This omission is slightly surprising given that tax avoidance, like tax evasion, has been around as long as tax itself and can have a major impact on so many aspects of...

In October 2007 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issued a draft Taxation Ruling (TR 2007/D10) which indicates the ATO's current view of the capital gains tax (CGT) implications for vendors and purchasers in business transactions commonly known as earnouts and reverse earnouts. This paper...

This paper presents the results of a survey that has collected fresh data about the compliance burden imposed by the tax system upon small business taxpayers in Australia. The study is one part of an international research project which is evaluating and comparing tax compliance costs affecting...

The need for simplification is often identified as a key consideration in any discussion of Australia's tax system. But just how important is simplification in the Australian context? And to what extent will it feature in any future tax reform post-Henry and Tax Forum? While there has been much...

The principal aim of this paper is to examine the experience of pre-filling in Australia. Section Two provides a background discussion of pre-filling in Australia. Section Three presents a preliminary assessment of the impact of pre-filling and considers a number of proposals that could enhance...

The session on tax system governance at the October 2011 Tax Forum represented an opportunity to build on the strong foundations, laid down by the Henry Review, for a citizen-centric approach to the management of the interactions between individuals and firms and the agencies charged with...

This article suggests that the proposals for a standard deduction for work related expenses and the costs of managing tax affairs of individual taxpayers, due to be introduced from 1 July 2012, are flawed from a number of perspectives. After briefly reviewing international practice and examining...

This paper compares and contrasts the UK's Mirrlees Review with major tax reviews that have taken place at about the same time in Australia (the Henry Review) and New Zealand (the Tax Working Group Review). It suggests that the three countries share many cultural, social, economic and political...