As the leading forum for the tax community in Australia, The Tax Institute welcomes the incoming Labor Government following the recent Federal election. The economic, fiscal and social responsibilities and challenges facing the Government are immense in an uncertain and globally volatile environment.
Domestically, the Government and taxpayers face numerous challenges at present, including:
- Size of the ATO’s debt book, the ATO’s ability to recover those debts and the broader economic impact of this recovery — the ATO debt book has increased by almost 78% in the last four years, and there are currently no policies to address the repayment of existing debt and prevention of future debt
- Heightened tax dispute environment
- Increased risk of business collapses with rising business costs (including fuel and utilities) and widespread staff shortages
- Continuing pressure on tax professionals and advisers and their ability to effectively administer significant proposed system changes in the short term
- Taxpayers’ willingness to accept more changes in the short term.
The Tax Institute is uniquely placed to properly represent the tax and superannuation system because of the diversity of our membership, comprising not only tax practitioners (primarily, accountants and lawyers) but also those within government (including the ATO) and academia. As an independent body, we consider the whole system without being driven by vested interests, other than seeking to influence tax and revenue policy at the highest level with a view to achieving a better tax system for all.
Our primary function is to educate our members, the community and the government. To that end, we are always available to test matters, engage in confidential consultations with the Government, Treasury and the ATO, and review the detail of potential policies prior to their public release.