Well, celebrations have started for our 70th anniversary. We are the mark of expertise. We are the leading professional body in tax and we are 70 years young. What a future we have. I am so proud to represent The Tax Institute.

Robert Jeremenko and myself have just spent time visiting various Federal Members of Parliament, Senators and their advisors to convey the Institutes’ concerns on a number of tax issues. We were thankful for the time given to listen to our issues and will continue to foster debate and, hopefully, change in respect to an ever growing list of issues. Robert Jeremenko’s updates will keep you posted on the Institute’s activities in this regard. I was pleased to hear, during our conversations in Canberra, how well respected the Institute is.

Our annual conference has come and gone. Thank you to all who participated. I recommend a visit to our website to access the papers presented. I’m sure these will be used as a standard reference source for members as the quality was so high.

The Tax Institute welcomed the new Commissioner of Taxation, Chris Jordan, as he delivered his first public address at our convention.

We were pleased to hear his agenda and look forward to working with the Commissioner and his staff to improve the operation of our tax system.

Stephen Westaway

Stephen Westaway is President of the National Council at 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.