Australian Tax Act Dubbed 'Monster' By Accountants

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

14 June 2002

The National Tax and Accountants Association in Australia yesterday condemned the country's tax act, revealing that it has tripled in size over the past year alone.

NTAA President, Ray Regan called on Thursday for the Federal Government to massively simplify the Australian tax code, arguing that: 'If the average accountant can't really understand it what chance does the average person in the street have?'

He added that: 'Our tax system is not clear at all, it is simply a gigantic monster that has outgrown itself.'

This runs parallel to concerns regarding the size and complexity of the Australian international tax regime. Speaking in April, John Schubert, the President of the Business Council of Australia warned that the country's international tax system is need of major and urgent reform if it is to remain internationally competitive.

'The pattern of tax in Australia is such that we are ill-equipped to deal with the modern world. We have an unfriendly international tax regime,' John Schubert told delegates attending a conference at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research earlier this year.

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