Hostname: page-component-cc8bf7c57-j4qg9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-12T05:07:14.890Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Significance of Business Interest Associations in Economic Policy Reform: The Case of Australian Taxation Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard Eccleston
Richard Eccleston*
Affiliation:
Griffith University
*
School of Politics and Public Policy, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Tel.: +617 738757608; E-mail: r.eccleston@mailbox.gu.eudu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Taxation reform has dominated Australian politics over the past twenty-five years. Despite this prominence on the political agenda, until recently Australian governments have lacked the capacity to consolidate key elements of this tax reform agenda. While the problematic nature of Australian tax reform can be explained in part by macro-level variables, this protracted policy deadlock has also influenced historical patterns of business-government intermediation. The article argues that the evolution of the Australian tax policy network over the study period was prompted by both associational and state actors reassessing their strategies in the context of the political failure of tax reform proposals. These developments provide empirical insights into the ongoing debate relating to the factors which lead to the formation and evolution of sectoral level policy networks. The article concludes that while the increasing levels of business mobilization experienced over the study period enhanced the electoral viability of reform proposals, these new patterns of sectoral business politics should be regarded as a consequence of the policy deadlock relating to tax reform rather than primary cause of policy change.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , November 2000 , pp. 309 - 325
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2000 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abjorensen, N. 1993. John Hewson: A Biography. Melbourne: Lothian Books.Google Scholar
Atkinson, M. and Coleman, W. 1989. Strong States and Weak States: Sectoral Policy Networks in Advanced Capitalist Economies. British Journal of Political Science 19.Google Scholar
Atkinson, M. and Coleman, W. 1992. Policy Networks, Policy Communities and the Problems of Governance. Governance 5(2).Google Scholar
Bean, C. 1994. The 1993 Election and Australian Electoral Studies in the 1990s. Australian Journal of Political Science 29.Google Scholar
Bell, S. 1995. Between the Market and the State: The role of Business Associations in Public Policy. Comparative Politics October.Google Scholar
Bell, S. and Wanna, J., eds. 1992. Business-Government Relations in Australia. Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Bell, S. and Warhurst, J. 1993. Business Political Activism and Government Relations in Large Companies in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science 28(2).Google Scholar
Blom Hansen, J. 1997. A ‘New Institutional’ Perspective on Policy Networks. Public Administration 75.Google Scholar
Bonker, F. 2000. Initiating and Consolidating Economic Reform. In Transitions: Political Factors of Socio-economic Progress in Post-socialist Countries, edited by Beyer, J., Wielgohs, J. and Wiesenthal, H. Baden-Baden: Nomos.Google Scholar
Bowden, R. 1985. ‘ACTU to end the Accord if Option C goes ahead’. The Australian 2/7: 1985.Google Scholar
Business Coalition for Tax Reform: www.bctr.org/who we are.htmGoogle Scholar
Cerney, P. 1990. The Changing Architecture of Politics. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Coleman, W. and Perl, A. 1999. Internationalized Policy Environments and Policy Network Analysis. Political Studies XLVII.Google Scholar
Coleman, W. and Skogstad, G. 1990. Policy Communities and Public Policy in Canada. Ontario: Copp Clark Pitman.Google Scholar
Dowding, K. 1995. Model or Metaphor? A Critical Review of the Policy Network Approach. Political Studies XLIII.Google Scholar
Dyson, K. 1983. The Cultural, Ideological and Structural Context. In Industrial Crisis: A Comparative Study of the State and Industry, edited by Dyson, K. and Wilks, S. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. 1996. Keating: The Inside Story. Melbourne: Penguin Books Australia.Google Scholar
Graetz, M. 1985. Reform of Australian Business Tax 1(4).Google Scholar
Groenewgen, P. 1982. Australian Taxation Policy: A Survey. Sydney: Taxation Research and Education Trust.Google Scholar
Hall, P. 1983. Policy Innovation and the Structure of the State. The Annals No. 466.Google Scholar
Head, J., ed. 1986. Changing the Tax Mix. Sydney: Australian Tax Research Foundation.Google Scholar
Hewson, J. and Fischer, T. 1991. Fightback!: Taxation and Expenditure Reform for Jobs and Growth. Canberra: Panther.Google Scholar
Katzenstein, P. 1977. Between Power and Plenty. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Keating, M. and Dixon, G. 1989. Making Economic Policy in Australia 1983–1988. Sydney: Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Kelly, P. 1992. The End of Certainty. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Kelly, P. 1999. (ed.) Future Tense. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Klijn, E. 1996. Analyzing and Managing Policy Processes in Complex Networks. Administration and Society 28(1).Google Scholar
Levi, M. 1988. Of Rule and Revenue. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Lofgren, H. 2000. Business Associations and the Food Processing Industry in Australia: Is Neo-corporatist Theory Still Useful? Australian Political Science Association Conference, Canberra.Google Scholar
McCathie, A. 1984. Tax Review Parameters Lock in PM. Australian Financial Review. 17/11: 1984, p. 3.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, P. A. 1991. How Business Relates to the Hawke Government: The Captains of Industry. In Business and Government under Labor, edited by Galligan, B. and Singelton, G. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Martin, C. J. 1989. Business Influence and State Power: The Case of US Corporate Tax Policy. Politics and Society 17(2).Google Scholar
Mathews, R. 1985. The Case for Indirect Taxation. Australian Tax Forum 1(1).Google Scholar
Mathews, T. 1992. Employers’ Associations, Corporatism and the Accord. In Business-Government Relations in Australia, edited by Bell, S. and Wanna, J. Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
National Labour and Business Archives, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
National Taxation Summit. 1996. http://www.impactservices.com.au/acci/index.htm Google Scholar
Nevile, J. 1985. Business Tax and Economic Growth. Economic Papers 4(3).Google Scholar
O'Connor, J. 1973. The Fiscal Crisis of the State. New York: St Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Peters, G. 1991. The Politics of Taxation. Cambridge MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Reform of the Australian taxation system (Draft White Paper). 1985. Canberra: AGPS.Google Scholar
Review of Business Taxation. 1998. A Strong Foundation. Canberra: AGPS.Google Scholar
Rhodes, R. 1997. Understanding Governance: Policy Networks, Governance, Refexivity and Accountability. Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Richardson, G. 1994. Whatever it Takes. Sydney: Bantam Books.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, J. 1954 [originally drafted 1918]. The Crisis of the Tax State. In International Economic Papers: Translations Prepared for the International Economic Association, edited by Peacock, et al. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Singleton, G. 1990. The Accord and the Labour Movement. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
Steinmo, S. 1993. Taxation and Democracy: Swedish, British and American Approaches to Financing the Modern State. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Taxation Review Committee: Full Report. 1975. Canberra: AGPS.Google Scholar
Thompson, N. 1976. Taxation and the Asprey and Mathews Reports. Australian Quarterly 48(4).Google Scholar
Tingle, L. 1994. Chasing the Future. Melbourne: Reed Books.Google Scholar
Wanna, J. 1992. Furthering Business Interests: Business Associations and Political Representation. In Business-Government Relations in Australia, edited by Bell, S. and Wanna, J. Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Warburton, R. 2000. Reflections and Challenges. The Business Coalition of Tax Reform's Chairman's address to the Corporate Tax Association of Australia's Annual Conference. http://www.bctr.org/default.asp?pnewsid=1106 Google Scholar
Weller, P. and Cutt, J. 1976. Treasury Control in Australia. Sydney: Ian Vovak.Google Scholar
Witwell, G. 1986. The Treasury Line. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar