Delivering sound tax law design

At the Tax Institute's Queensland Corporate Tax Retreat recently, we were very pleased to have the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP, provide a keynote address to attendees.

The Minister's speech focussed on the role of transparent and informed consultation in delivering sound tax law design, and he commenced by acknowledging "the significant contribution of The Tax Institute to tax consultations over the years".

Notably, the Minister recognised Tax Institute concerns and agreed to host bi-annual meetings with key stakeholders to discuss the prioritisation of unenacted tax measures – that is, those that have been announced but have not yet become law. He will also set up a Revenue Group Law Design Practice within Treasury to manage priorities.

In releasing related Board of Taxation reports, the Government has further committed to improve the tax consultation process by:

  • annually reviewing and making public the stock of unlegislated announcements
  • improving project management skills within Treasury
  • developing an explicit ethical framework to further underpin the integrity of tax consultations.

The Tax Institute congratulated the Government on this announcement.

The Tax Institute's strong advocacy for greater stakeholder involvement in prioritising tax law measures has resulted in these Government commitments. We welcome the Government's acknowledgment of the long-held concerns of Tax Institute members and commitment to action that should inject much needed certainty into our tax system.

Robert Jeremenko
Robert
Jeremenko

Robert Jeremenko CTA is Senior Tax Counsel of The Tax Institute.

The Tax Institute is Australia’s leading professional association in tax. Its 13,000 members include tax agents, accountants and lawyers as well as tax practitioners in corporations, government and academia.

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