Australian Tax Research Foundation (ATRF) materials

Making a valuable contribution to the understanding and improvement of Australia's taxation system, the ATRF commissions research, organises conferences and seminars and subsequently publishes numerous papers and articles, the Foundation is instrumental in building an intellectual reservoir of tax reform proposals with the hope of creating a "tax vision" for Australia.

ATRF materials are now available from the Tax Knowledge eXchange for subscribers taking our Online Research option, or may be purchased on an individual basis. Find out more.

• The Australian taxation system: The 2017 great debate

  The purpose of the papers in this book are to highlight some of the great difficulties associated with many of these complex tax arrangements, and to tease out where possible, solutions that might capture the minds of our politicians and encourage
  them to think of more straightforward solutions to some of the taxation difficulties that we are currently experiencing.

  In each chapter we focus on a different problem, such as residency for tax purposes, the imputation system, the GST system, the concepts of CGT event and related matters.

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• Tax research: tips and tricks Work Book

  This material is free to Tax Knowledge eXchange subscribers who have a current online research package. This is an accompaniment to the research video.

  This paper covers:

  • Google
  • Australian Taxation Office
  • The Tax Institute
  • Australian Parliamentary website
  • Austlii
  • Federal Register of Legislation
  • And several subscription websites.
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• An Australian road transport carbon price: A comparative analysis

  Road transport is vital to Australia’s economy in terms of moving people and goods. Despite this, road transport activities pose a substantial challenge for Australia in terms of climate change: making a sizeable and growing contribution to Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. However, the decisions that Australians currently make about purchasing, owning, and using vehicles are the same that provide opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in this sector.

  This text explores the legal aspects of implementing a carbon price in Australia’s road transport sector at the time of vehicle purchase, use, and throughout ownership to encourage mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. While laws could impose one of numerous instruments to establish a carbon price, there are strong grounds to utilise existing tax laws for this purpose given both the existing regulatory framework, and heavily taxed nature, of Australia’s road transport sector. Based on a functional comparison between Australian and German tax laws that affect road transport activities, this text recommends how existing Australian tax laws can be reformed to accommodate climate change objectives, taking account of not only environmental, but industry and revenue priorities. Germany is chosen for comparison based on key industry and tax similarities, and key differences regarding road transport greenhouse gas emissions trends. Reform recommendations made as a result of comparison not only canvass ways to establish a road transport carbon price from a legal perspective, but also the importance of using other laws and measures in the sector to support and reinforce a road transport carbon price.

  This text is not only a useful resource on the specific issue of carbon taxes and mitigation of road transport greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, but also in relation to broader themes including climate change policy, legal aspects of carbon pricing, and comparative analysis for the purpose of law reform.

   

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• A critical evaluation of how aspects of the tax system in Australia are administered and their impact on corporations and directors

  The obligations of directors when managing corporations in Australia are becoming increasingly difficult. The tax regulator (the Australian Taxation Office) and the legislature impose increasingly onerous obligations on directors such that often there is the potential for conflicting demands to be made on directors.

  This treatise reviews the way that the ATO administers the tax system in Australia, and identifies areas where the ATO may not be following best practice. The treatise also considers responsive regulation, the risk-differentiation framework used by the ATO, and the liability (both civil and criminal) imposed on directors for a breach by a company of its tax obligations.

  The author concludes that there are areas of concern in the manner in which the tax system in Australia is administered and makes various recommendations for improving this system.

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• Using tax and regulatory measures to reform choice and usage of motor vehicles paper

  This is a free sample. The full paper can be found here.

  This book has been motivated by the need to preserve the scarce oil resources used by motorists for their personal transportation. The inquiry for this research was whether the government of Australia bears some responsibility for influencing Australian motorists’ choice and usage of motor vehicles, in order to reduce oil consumption and preserve this scarce commodity, and whether this responsibility is being achieved within the current regulatory and tax environment.This qualitative research has been conducted by using interpretive description and legal methodology. A tax policy solution has been suggested after investigating the problem by deconstructing prior knowledge in three areas: the status of oil reserves; the characteristics of motor vehicles that impact upon the consumption of oil; and the tax and regulatory measures that have been adopted by other countries to influence the choice and usage of passenger motor vehicles. A critical examination of the various policy options for Australia was conducted to suggest a solution for this identified problem and this book proposes that the best option for Australia is to conduct a comprehensive reform of the motor vehicle taxes and charges and introduce a Luxury Energy Tax (LET) system for motor vehicles based on the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle. 

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• Using tax and regulatory measures to reform choice and usage of motor vehicles paper

  This book has been motivated by the need to preserve the scarce oil resources used by motorists for their personal transportation. The inquiry for this research was whether the government of Australia bears some responsibility for influencing Australian motorists’ choice and usage of motor vehicles, in order to reduce oil consumption and preserve this scarce commodity, and whether this responsibility is being achieved within the current regulatory and tax environment.This qualitative research has been conducted by using interpretive description and legal methodology. A tax policy solution has been suggested after investigating the problem by deconstructing prior knowledge in three areas: the status of oil reserves; the characteristics of motor vehicles that impact upon the consumption of oil; and the tax and regulatory measures that have been adopted by other countries to influence the choice and usage of passenger motor vehicles. A critical examination of the various policy options for Australia was conducted to suggest a solution for this identified problem and this book proposes that the best option for Australia is to conduct a comprehensive reform of the motor vehicle taxes and charges and introduce a Luxury Energy Tax (LET) system for motor vehicles based on the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle. 

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• State taxes reform: A practitioner's viewpoint paper

  Do you believe it is time for inefficient State taxes to be reformed? Should stamp duties continue to be charged on residential home purchases? Why are duties still levied on insurance policies?  Such reform cannot begin without alternate financial support being found for the States and Territories if they are to give up their funding streams provided by State taxes.

  In this paper, Michael Butler of Finlaysons, who is an experienced State taxes practitioner offers the “tax practitioner’s view” of the operation of these inefficient taxes and why reform in this area is necessary.

  This paper is accompanied by a presentation which can be found here.

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• Revolutionising state taxes presentation

  This is a free sample. The full paper can be found here.

  Do you believe it is time for inefficient State taxes to be reformed? Should stamp duties continue to be charged on residential home purchases? Why are duties still levied on insurance policies? Such reform cannot begin without alternate financial support being found for the States and Territories if they are to give up their funding streams provided by State taxes.

  In this presentation, Bruce Carter of Ferrier Hodgson, who is a member of the Federal Government’s panel that is reviewing the way GST is distributed among the States and Territories, gives his thoughts.

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• Revolutionising state taxes presentation

  Do you believe it is time for inefficient State taxes to be reformed? Should stamp duties continue to be charged on residential home purchases? Why are duties still levied on insurance policies? Such reform cannot begin without alternate financial support being found for the States and Territories if they are to give up their funding streams provided by State taxes.

  In this presentation, Bruce Carter of Ferrier Hodgson, who is a member of the Federal Government’s panel that is reviewing the way GST is distributed among the States and Territories, gives his thoughts.

  More »

• State taxes reform: A practitioner's viewpoint presentation

  Do you believe it is time for inefficient State taxes to be reformed? Should stamp duties continue to be charged on residential home purchases? Why are duties still levied on insurance policies?  Such reform cannot begin without alternate financial support being found for the States and Territories if they are to give up their funding streams provided by State taxes.

  In this presentation, Michael Butler of Finlaysons, who is an experienced State taxes practitioner offers the “tax practitioner’s view” of the operation of these inefficient taxes and why reform in this area is necessary.

  This presentation is accompanied by a paper which can be found here.

  More »