Joseph, Sally - Ann
Unfinished business? assessing and addressing the burden of the split tax code in Australia / Sally-Ann Joseph; Helen Hodgson; Chris Evans
For nearly three decades, the assessment provisions of the Australian income tax law have been enacted across two separate statutes, the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. This article investigates the attitudes of tax practitioners to two key issues: the effect of the split tax code on compliance burdens, including both monetary and psychological costs; and whether the project to consolidate the income tax code into a single Act, discontinued in the 1990s, should be resumed to complete the process. Although the results of the survey underpinning this article cannot be extrapolated to the broader tax community owing to the low response rate, qualitative data provided by the respondents indicated that they have, generally, become accustomed to working with the two Acts, although a significant number of practitioners identified the psychological burden associated with working across the two Acts. Most relevantly, the practitioners were of the view that a completion of the rewrite, while it May be welcome, will not address the major problems with the most contentious parts of the legislation without a comprehensive policy review.
LEGISLACION
CODIGOS TRIBUTARIOS
IMPUESTO SOBRE LA RENTA DE LAS PERSONAS FISICAS
ENCUESTAS
AUSTRALIA
Hodgson, Helen
Evans, Chris C.
Australian Tax Forum: a journal of Taxation Policy, Law and Reform 0812-695X v. 40, n. 1, 2025, p. 1-28
Unfinished business? assessing and addressing the burden of the split tax code in Australia / Sally-Ann Joseph; Helen Hodgson; Chris Evans
For nearly three decades, the assessment provisions of the Australian income tax law have been enacted across two separate statutes, the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. This article investigates the attitudes of tax practitioners to two key issues: the effect of the split tax code on compliance burdens, including both monetary and psychological costs; and whether the project to consolidate the income tax code into a single Act, discontinued in the 1990s, should be resumed to complete the process. Although the results of the survey underpinning this article cannot be extrapolated to the broader tax community owing to the low response rate, qualitative data provided by the respondents indicated that they have, generally, become accustomed to working with the two Acts, although a significant number of practitioners identified the psychological burden associated with working across the two Acts. Most relevantly, the practitioners were of the view that a completion of the rewrite, while it May be welcome, will not address the major problems with the most contentious parts of the legislation without a comprehensive policy review.
LEGISLACION
CODIGOS TRIBUTARIOS
IMPUESTO SOBRE LA RENTA DE LAS PERSONAS FISICAS
ENCUESTAS
AUSTRALIA
Hodgson, Helen
Evans, Chris C.
Australian Tax Forum: a journal of Taxation Policy, Law and Reform 0812-695X v. 40, n. 1, 2025, p. 1-28