Bill Shorten, Assistant Treasurer, announced at the forum some of the improvements the government is planning, including the setting up of a tax system advisory board to add value to the administration of the tax system. He said this would have an independent chair and that its members would have a range of different and diverse organizational skills.

“It is also an opportunity to bring a level of commercial counsel to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in managing its external relationships with taxpayers. And an additional voice for the business and taxpayer communities in relation to ATO culture,” Shorten said.

He also talked about tax law and design, and asked the delegates whether there was a case for the government to make its intended policy outcomes in taxation laws clearer to parliament.

“Refining these arrangements would involve enhancing the process of developing legislation, ensuring that there is a common understanding of the intended policy outcomes between Treasury and the ATO, and then the Tax Office makes it clear to Parliament that the proposed legislation can in fact be administered in accordance with the government’s policy intent,” he said.

At the end of the event, Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott said that some welcome and important first steps towards improving the tax system were taken at the forum. “But we are a long way short of a 10-year plan to overhaul the tax system and improve the efficiency of government spending required to deal with Australia’s unfolding fiscal challenge,” she stated.

She said one of the important outcomes was the confirmation by the government of the link between business taxation and broader economic growth and productivity.

“The business tax reform working group that was announced will provide an opportunity to consider what is the right business tax system for Australia over the medium- to long-term,” said Westacott. She added:

“This group could usefully also play a role in the challenge of simplification. However, any changes to the business tax system must be part of a comprehensive, 10-year overhaul of the total tax system. We welcome the recognition at the forum that inefficient and unproductive state taxes should be removed."

“The commitment to a state tax reform plan is a welcome development. However, it is difficult to see how states alone, given their future budget pressures, can fully fund removal of inefficient taxes without other sources of revenue and an examination of roles and accountabilities between levels of government."

“Australia’s ability to pay for the future will be put at risk if the opportunity presented by this week’s national tax forum doesn’t lead to a comprehensive process for long-term reform.”

“Along with many groups representing different sectors of the Australian community, we urge the government to hear the clear message from the first national discussion about this issue in a quarter of a century, that we need a formal process and independent governance to advance comprehensive tax reform.”

Westacott said that it was critical that parliament does not waste this momentum and maintains an open dialogue to build common ground for comprehensive tax reform.

The Tax Institute has announced that it will continue to urge the federal government to establish an independent Taxation Reform Commission.
 The proposal was part of The Tax Institute’s submission to the Forum and was raised repeatedly on the floor during discussions.

“While we appreciate current budget constraints, we urge the government to demonstrate ongoing commitment to the vision provided by the Henry Review and lay out a clear blueprint for reform,” said Tax Institute Senior Counsel Robert Jeremenko.



Jeremenko said that while the Tax Forum generated fruitful discussions, follow-up work is essential, and, to this end, it welcomed the government’s AUD1m (USD950,000) per year commitment to fund a tax research centre for excellence.

However, the Institute believed that the narrow focus of the forum was a disappointment that was only partly offset by consensus on a handful of issues.



“These include harmonization of state taxes,” Jeremenko said. "However focus on harmonization is a lazy option that’s no substitute for abolition of these inefficient imposts that are currently impeding investment and growth.
 We will continue to push for both discussion about the GST and reform of inefficient state taxes.”