ATTA News January 2009 http://www.atax.unsw.edu.au/atta/newsletter.htm Editor: Colin Fong, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney [email protected] ATTA website http://www.atax.unsw.edu.au/atta Contents 1 Presidential column 1 2 ATTA 2009 1 3 ATTA AGM draft agenda 2 4 Arrivals, departures and honours 3 5 Visiting Fellowships 2009 4 6 Comparative Tax Law and Culture 5 7 Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Studentship Competition 2009 6 8 TicTOCS - Journal Tables of Contents Service 7 9 Tax, Accounting, Economics and Law Related Meetings 7 10 Recent publications 12 1 Presidential column Dear ATTA Members It is with a tinge of sadness that I write my last President’s column. My two year appointment will come to an end at the next AGM which is to be held in a few days time. Members of the Executive tell me that I am allowed to be sentimental in my final column. Looking back, they probably should have told me some time ago that sentimentality needed to wait until now. It seems that in many of my columns I have expressed my passion for ATTA as an organisation as well as thanking members for their hard work and contributions. Rather than repeat what I have expressed on many occasions, I will end my final column by stating that being President of ATTA has been an incredible experience. Thank you. I look forward to catching up with many of you next week. Kind regards, Kerrie 2 ATTA 2009 The ATTA 2009 Conference is only just a few days away and we are looking forward to being your hosts. Christchurch weather at this time of year is often quite warm; tomorrow is expected to be 32 degrees, but do be aware that the weather can also be quite changeable and the temperature often drops in the evening! Are you going to be in Christchurch on the Monday morning of 19 January? Have you thought about attending the PhD presentations? For only $40.00 you can come to these sessions and support our doctoral students. If you wish to attend please contact the conference office direct or see conference staff on Monday morning at the registration desk in the C block foyer. These presentations start at 9am. The first presentation session, ‘I survived a PhD’, includes a paper titled ‘Get Smart or Intolerable Cruelty’. Sounds interesting! We are looking forward to showcasing to ATTA members and guests the uniqueness of Antarctica. Our formal evening, on Tuesday night, being held at the Antarctic Centre, allows guests to explore the Centre’s informative displays showcasing modern day Antarctica, including exhibits of the Antarctic treaty partners, the human impact on the continent, the wildlife and plant systems and Antarctica’s effect on the globe. The Gallery area encourages ‘touching’ of most of the exhibits to ensure visitors experience Antarctica in a fun and interactive way. As a special treat ATTA members and guests will also be able to climb aboard an amazing Hagglund, a genuine ‘as used in Antarctica’ all terrain vehicle. This ride is the only one of its type in the world. ATTA members and guests will buckle up before being taken out for an exhilarating ride over mounds, a crevasse, speeding across open ground and through a pond of water to display the Hagglund’s amphibious capabilities. For ATTA members that enjoy a good laugh you are in Christchurch at the best time of the year! From Thursday 22 January, Christchurch’s pavements, parks and stages will come alive with comedians, contortionists, musicians, mime artists, juggler’s and acrobats performing in the World Buskers Festival 2009. This is an annual event on the Christchurch calendar and is tremendously popular. This year there are 47 different acts from New Zealand, Australia, The United States, Canada, Britain, Japan, Argentina and Israel. From stand-up comedy to sword swallowing – there is something for everyone. For more information on the Buskers Festival check out their website www.worldbuskersfestival.com. And finally, just a brief word about our last conference event – the Spit Roast Barbeque and (weather permitting) the Trans - Tasman cricket match. The Barbeque will be all fired up by 5.30pm. The evening is intended to be a relaxing way to finish our Conference. The cricket match is very much a fun activity and children are most welcome to be involved. We encourage everyone to have a bat and partake in the fielding if they wish. Underarm bowling is permitted – anything goes! If wet, the Barbeque will be held in our C block foyer with a movie treat for the children. Once again we look forward to being your hosts for the ATTA 2009 Conference and we wish you all safe travel to out Garden City and look forward to seeing you in a few days time. On behalf of the ATTA 2009 Conference Committee Adrian Sawyer, Shelley Griffiths, Alistair Hodson and Andrew Maples 3 ATTA AGM draft agenda 1 Apologies to date 2 Confirmation of minutes of the ATTA AGM 2008, University of Tasmania. See http://www.atax.unsw.edu.au/atta/newsletters/2008/2008-02_ATTA_News.pdf 3 President’s report 4 Hill ATTA Medal 5 Proposal to establish an ATTA Doctoral Series 6 Use of ATTA funds 7 Financial accounts 8 Other matters The final agenda will be circulated at the AGM on 20 January 2008. 4 Arrivals, departures and honours Ray Neale retired (following an analysis of the tax benefits) as Senior Lecturer from the University of Western Sydney (UWS) Law School on 24 December 2008. Ray was farewelled at a variety of functions including a farewell by the Law School, a farewell from his many friends in the School of Accounting, and a farewell from the Executive Dean of the College of Business. Ray commenced as a casual in 1985 after a career at the ATO, and is the only known person to have worked at all three of the predecessor institutions that combined to create UWS. Ray's 20 odd years at UWS was only interrupted by a stint at University of New South Wales (UNSW). Ray's career included a period as Head of Accounting and Law at UWS Hawkesbury, a leading role in making the Blacktown multi-campus educational precinct on the old HMAS Nirimba site at Quakers Hill work, and a leading role in the UWS financial planning courses. Ray even found time to move Ian Iredale's admission. Ray is expecting to be doing some financial planning teaching in 2009 with UWS College of Business. ********************** John Taggart will be retiring from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Law on 30th January 2009 having made just over 30 years of service with UTS [including the earlier period when it was known as the NSW Institute of Technology]. He had a marvellous life as an academic having attended 14 Conferences overseas with the IBA serving as Chairman of their Migration and Nationality Committee and then as a member of the Council of the Section of General Practice. There were wonderful memories of the Conferences in New York, London, Madrid, Budapest and Buenos Aires to name just a few. He also served as Director of Cross Discipline and then Director of Post Graduate Cross Discipline when they were transferred from the Business Faculty to the Law Faculty. Over the last 10 years he co-ordinated the Tax Law and Revenue Law subjects which involve over 1,200 students a year on the City and Kuring-Gai campuses in Sydney and Taylor's campus in Kuala Lumpur. He has enjoyed it all and would recommend it to young colleagues, although the entitlements have certainly reduced somewhat from when he started. Although keen to enjoy his retirement, he will not leave academia completely as he has been asked to continue with a few hours a week as a part timer. It is interesting that he is retiring together with Ray Neale as he had the pleasure of working with him over the last 10 years. ********************** From May 2009, John Glover has accepted an appointment as Professor of Law at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University in Melbourne. Tax, Equity and Trusts will be his main teaching and research areas. RMIT University has re-entered the field of legal education and commenced a downtown JD program in mid-2007. ********************** Christine Peacock resigned from the School of Law at Deakin University to take up a Level B Lecturer in Taxation position at the School of Accounting and Law, RMIT University. ********************** Congratulations to Brett Freudenberg who was recently promoted to Senior Lecturer at Griffith University. ********************** Eva Huang will start as associate lecturer on 1February 2009 with the Discipline of Business Law, in the Faculty of Economics and Business, at the University of Sydney. This is a part time one year contract because she currently holds a full time PhD scholarship from the faculty. ********************** Professor Graeme Cooper was appointed to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Chair of International and European Tax Law at the European Tax College, a joint venture of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and Tilburg University in the Netherlands. ********************** Oxford University Law Faculty has created a new lectureship in tax law generously sponsored by McGrigors, Solicitors. They are delighted to announce that Glen Loutzenhiser was appointed to the lectureship, based at St Hugh's College, in October 2008. You can see pictures of the launch party on the TaxationLaw@Oxford website at http://denning.law.ox.ac.uk/tax/news.php ********************** Frank La Rosa a convicted drug dealer and his wife were found dead in suspicious circumstances.