Journal of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A U S T R A L A S I A N TAX TEACHERS ASSOCIAASSOCIATIONTION JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALASIAN TAX TEACHERS ASSOCIATION 2013 Vol.8 No.1 Edited by Postal Address: JATTA, c/o School of MARK R KEATING Taxation and Business Law University of New South Wales NSW 2052 Australia Kathrin Bain Ph: +61 2 9385 9541 E: [email protected] The Journal of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association (‘JATTA’) is a double blind, peer reviewed journal. The Journal is normally published annually, subsequent to the Association’s annual conference. The Australasian Tax Teachers Association (‘ATTA’) is a non-profit organisation established in 1987 with the goal of improving the standard of tax teaching in educational institutions across Australasia. Our members include tax academics, writers, and administrators from Australia and New Zealand. For more information about ATTA refer to our website (hosted by ATAX at the University of New South Wales) at http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/atta . Please direct your enquiries regarding the Journal to the Editor-in-Chief: Professor Dale Pinto Professor of Taxation Law School of Business Law and Taxation Curtin University GPO BOX U1987 Perth WA 6845 E: [email protected] Editorial Board of the Journal of Australasian Tax Teachers Association: Professor Dale Pinto , Curtin University, Perth, Australia (Editor-in-Chief) Professor Neil Brooks , Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada Associate Professor Paul Kenny , Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia Professor Margaret McKerchar , UNSW, Sydney, Australia Professor John Prebble , Victoria University of Wellington, NZ Professor Adrian Sawyer , University of Canterbury, NZ Professor Natalie Stoianoff , University of Technology Sydney, Australia Professor Miranda Stewart , University of Melbourne, Australia Professor Kerrie Sadiq Queensland University of Technology, Australia Associate Professor Andrew Smith , Victoria University, NZ ISSN: 1832-911X Volume 8 Number 1 published December 2013 Copyright © 2013 Australasian Tax Teachers Association TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD (Heading 1) Multinational Business Restructuring: Are Tax Authorities Trying to Hold Back the Tide? JULIE HARRISON , CHRISTINA STRINGER , AND JASNEET SINGH ...................................................................................... 4 A History of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association FIONA MARTIN ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Using one-on-one Interviews in tax teaching JOHN MINAS , DR SONIA SHIMELD AND SIMONE BINGHAM ............................................................................................ 55 Paul Keating, tax alchemist? A study proposing the interpretive tools of Pierre Bourdieu DR DIANE KRAAL ................................................................................................................................................................ 77 The Australian Capital Territory has adopted measures to abolish stamp duty and impose a land tax on all real property: Will this approach be adopted by other States in Australia? JOHN MCLAREN ................................................................................................................................................................ 101 Neoliberalism In Australia And The Henry Tax Review JOHN PASSANT .................................................................................................................................................................. 117 Social Enterprise: Some Tax Policy Considerations JONATHAN BARRETT AND JOHN VEAL ......................................................................................................................... 141 Income tax and environmental provisions – green gold or lead weight? SALLY JOSEPH ................................................................................................................................................................... 169 1 Journal of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association 2013 Vol.8 No.1 FOREWORD The 2013 edition of the Journal of Australasian Tax Teachers Association grew out of the Association’s successful annual conference held in January 2013 at the University of Auckland. In recognition of ATTA’s 25 th year the conference theme was “Tax Alchemy – turning silver into gold”. It was a great credit to my colleagues that the Auckland conference was so enjoyable and ran so smoothly. As detailed in the excellent article by Fiona Martin recording the history of ATTA, the association is in fine health as it passes its silver jubilee. This article tells the interesting story of ATTA’s formative years, and its subsequent growth and development. Details of the annual conferences, patrons, and award and medal winners are all recorded. As such, the article ensures the activities and achievements of our association are preserved for posterity. The ongoing strength of ATTA is also demonstrated in the number and breadth of the other articles contained in this edition. These articles reflect both the trans-Tasman flavour of the membership and the sheer range of research interests being pursued by tax academics in the two jurisdictions. The wide-ranging economic and tax reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990 are considered from two very different perspectives in articles by Diane Kraal and John Passant. Diane’s paper examines the extent of Paul Keating’s contribution to tax reform in Australia. It weighs up whether Mr Keating during his time as Australia’s Treasurer and Prime Minister simply marketed to the electorate the tax reform ideas of others or whether he transformed existing tax reforms and then built upon them. Applying Pierre Bourdieu’s social practice theory to the topic of tax reform, the paper examines the interrelatedness of Mr Keating’s persona and his struggles with the tax institutions and various interest groups. Taking an opposing view is John Passant, whose paper looks at the development of tax reform in Australia in the light of the global rise of neoliberalism and its impact on tax policy. It argues that the fall in profit s across the globe and the lack of class struggle in Australia have allowed neoliberal tax policy to dominate the agenda. The paper argues the Henry Tax Review is part of that process by both reducing taxes on capital and increasing tax burdens on labour. It proposes that only a return to class struggle offers the best opportunity to reintroduce equity into the tax debate. On a less theoretical level, the paper by John McLaren review recent tax reform in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT government undertook a review of its tax system in 2012 and one of the major recommendations was to broaden the land tax base. As a result the ACT imposed a land tax on a progressive basis on all commercial and residential property in the ACT, including owner occupied homes. Implementing this reform increased the general rates on owner-occupied homes and reduced land tax on investment properties and commercial properties. As a result of the subsequent increase in revenue, the ACT has substantially reduced stamp duty on real property conveyances with a view to abolishing it over the next 20 years. The paper examines the recommendations contained in the Henry Tax Review and suggests the ACT approach to the abolition of stamp duty and the imposition of a land tax on all property should be adopted by all States and Territories in Australia. The tax implications, and particularly the transfer pricing aspects, of business restructuring by multinationals is considered by Julie Harrison Christina Stringer, and Jasneet Singh. The authors examine the revenue concerns raised when profit-making 2 Journal of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association 2013 Vol.8 No.1 activities are shifted from one jurisdiction to another, and consider the responses of the Australian and New Zealand tax authorities. The paper also reviews the OECD’s report on the transfer pricing aspects of business restructuring and recent initiatives aimed at the issue of global profit shifting. The boundaries between charity and business are examined in the paper by Jonathan Barrett and John Veal. The paper notes that many charities engage in trade and many companies perform some public benefit functions. The emergence of “social enterprises”, which employ features of both business and charitable practices, has highlighted the desirability of revisiting old policy and legal distinctions drawn between altruistic and for-profit enterprises. Since charitable organisations enjoy tax advantages over for-profit organisations competing in the same market, the conduct of charities has come under increased scrutiny from revenue authorities. The paper proposes how tax policy might be reformulated in the face of this social enterprise phenomenon. The ability of tax law to make an environmental impact is examined by Sally Joseph. The income tax provisions pertaining to the mine site rehabilitation and land degradation are two tax expenditures that are able to assist environmental management. While environmental policy may not have necessarily been the impetus for their introduction, it has been a factor in their development over time. The paper reviews the history and policy behind these provisions and analyses their environmental effectiveness. It concludes that Australian tax policy is always subject to the influence of various interest