Simpler Personal Tax System

Simpler Personal Tax System

Introduction

The long awaited report of the Henry tax review (Report) and the Government's response to it was released on 2nd May, 2010 with much fanfare. Evocatively titled Australia's Future Tax System, preceded by media lockdowns and at the colossal size of over 1,309 pages, the Report and the Government's response to it promised much, not only for Australia's tax community, but all Australian individuals, families and businesses (Henry, Harmer, Piggott and Ridout 2010).

Henry Report for a Simpler Tax System

It appears an opportune time to reflect and address: What will change?What will the Report signify for lawyers generally or tax solicitors in particular?founded on the Government's answer, the answer for many appears to be, in the short period, “not much”. The Report does supply a clear suggestion of a Treasury “blueprint” for levy restructure in the future.

The Report's and the Government's answer to it, necessarily operate on a high grade, policy-based plane. Businesses and persons are, at this stage, expected to be performing initial assessments of how the suggested changes are likely to influence on their affairs. But as habitually, the “devil” for levy restructure lies in the detail.

It will take some time for the Government to determine how its response will be applied and drafted. We would not expect Australian businesses and individuals to be immediately making significant changes to their operations and activities until further certainty and detail is available regarding the measures (Henry, Harmer, Piggott and Ridout 2010). The Report does offer some useful guidance to Australian tax solicitors and practitioners considering the direction for future levy reform, development and administration.

One of the localities of aim of the Report was the governance on the Australian levy system. The Report emphasises the need for larger community consultation prior to making important levy reforms. ...