*Please note that the links to the content in this Part will direct you to Westlaw AU. If you are using Checkpoint, the links can be found in the Checkpoint PDF at the bottom of this post.

To purchase an article, please email: [email protected] or contact us on 1300 304 195 (Australian customers) or +61 2 8587 7980 (international customers) during business hours (Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm AEST).

The latest issue of the Australian Tax Review (Volume 53 Part 4) contains the following material:

EDITORIAL – General Editors: Kerrie Sadiq and Dale Pinto

Articles

Grounds to Object: The Limitation on the Scope of Merits Review of Tax Decisions – Joel Townsend

Over the past 50 years, the merits review of administrative decisions in Australia has developed some consistent features. Notably, a merits review tribunal is, in most circumstances, put “in the shoes” of an original decision-maker, able to exercise all of that decision-maker’s powers and discretions – including considering new evidence and arguments. Tax decisions stand apart: tax legislation limits the power of the AAT to consider new objections to an assessment. This article shows the long history of this limitation, which long predates the risk of modern Australian administrative law processes. It shows how the limitation has been eased somewhat over recent decades, but also asks the question whether the justification for the limitation remains relevant, given the vast changes in the tax system since it was first created.

Revisiting Income Averaging 50 Years after the Asprey Review – Thea Voogt

Long-term averaging of the income tax liabilities of primary producers that addresses period inequity was an important focus area for the Asprey Committee. This study identified four themes from the Asprey Report to investigate the development and current state of income averaging tax legislation because, in 2024, it is one of the most important direct government support measures available to farmers. The study finds that the current averaging method is complex, contrary to what the Asprey Committee envisaged. It also finds that aspects of averaging are not aligned with national agricultural policy goals and the neo-liberal economic policy framework for the sector. While most farmers benefit from averaging tax offsets, it is unlikely that it contributes meaningfully to their overall financial position or that it makes them more self-reliant.

For the PDF version of the table of contents, click here: New Westlaw Australia – AT Rev Vol 53 No 4 Contents or here: Checkpoint – AT Rev Vol 53 No 4 Contents.

Click here to access this Part on New Westlaw AU

Click here to access this Part on Checkpoint

For general queries, please contact: [email protected].