Personal income tax reform in Australia: The way forward

Published on 01 Jul 06 by "AUSTRALIAN TAX FORUM" JOURNAL ARTICLE

This paper provides a summary overview of the personal income tax–transfer reform debate in Australia. It attempts to employ a balanced approach to examine the main issues and arguments put forward by various schools of thought with regard to tax reform. First, it explores in depth the meaning of tax reform and reaffirms that tax cuts are not necessarily tax reform. Secondly, it presents a brief diagnosis of Australia’s current personal income tax–transfer system. Thirdly, it surveys the tax theoretical literature as a guide to tax policy. Fourthly and finally, it discusses a variety of constraints and options for tax reform in Australia. It also outlines the three-stage approach (micro-simulation, Delphi study and surveying) to be adopted by the authors in their future tax reform studies.

Author profiles

Binh Tran-Nam

Binh is a Professor, School of Taxation & Business Law, UNSW Australia and RMIT Asia Graduate Centre, RMIT University Vietnam, and International Fellow, Tax Administration Research Centre, Exeter University-Institute for Fiscal Studies. - Current at 30 August 2017

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Prof Christopher Evans

Chris is a Professor, School of Taxation & Business Law, UNSW Australia, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Taxation, University of Pretoria, and Senior Research Fellow, Tax Law and Policy Research Group, Monash University. - Current at 15 September 2017

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Paul Drum CTA

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Paul Drum CTA

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Garry Addison

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