A taxing issue

It seems tax reform will become one of the main political issues over the coming year with both political parties intent on demonstrating their reform enthusiasm.

Australia’s peak business tax group, the Business Coalition for Tax Reform (BCTR) is urging the Government to take tax reform seriously as a vital step in ensuring Australia’s economy continues to grow. BCTR’s views on tax reform were mirrored in the latest OECD review of the Australian economy which gave us a generally favourable outlook but warned that tax reform was necessary for future growth.

The OECD’s Australian report card is at http://www.oecd.org/home/

In releasing the BCTR budget submission BCTR chairman John Stanhope said the

Government needed to undertake major reform across a number of key areas including seeking significant improvements in tax administration and the simplicity of the legislation, finding a method to rapidly remove the outstanding inefficient state taxes, undertaking significant personal tax reform and progressing international tax reforms which will benefit the economy by attracting labour and capital.

“Reform in all these areas of the tax system is fundamentally important for the health of the economy and the framework in which business operates,” Stanhope said.

In its 2005 Budget submission the BCTR urges Government not to waste important opportunities for reform and encourages both federal and state governments to take a renewed interest in tax reform and to do so from a “whole of economy” perspective.

“The best taxation system for sustained long-term economic growth requires that all levels of taxation in Australia are working efficiently and facilitating Australia’s international competitiveness” said Stanhope.

The BCTR encourages the Government to build on its Intergenerational Report 2002-03 and the recent interim report on Ageing by the Productivity Commission to develop a vision for Australia’s tax system which will serve the country well as it confronts the twin challenges of an ageing population and increasing international
competition.

The BCTR is a forum for bringing together the views of the business community on
tax reform issues. Its budget submission is available at http://www.bctr.org