Foundations of Taxation Law

Tax laws are based on policies developed by governments, which take into account a broad range of social, economic and political considerations. It is impossible to properly understand how a country’s tax system has evolved without taking these considerations into account. This chapter explores the political setting in Australia and the process involved in formulating tax policies and implementing tax reform. The chapter discusses various tax reviews that have shaped the Australian tax landscape and considers some of the more important tax reforms that have taken place over recent years. In particular, it discusses the Liberal–National Coalition Government’s ‘A New Tax System’ (‘ANTS’) reforms, which resulted in a number of significant changes to the Commonwealth tax system in the early 2000s (including the introduction of GST from 1 July 2000). It also discusses the ‘Henry Tax Review’, which was commissioned by the Labor Government in 2008 to make recommendations for the design of ‘Australia’s Future Tax System’.