AUSTRALIA
In 2007 the Australian Government examined the GTPP to see what lessons it could learn. However, it
has its own complexities resulting from the apparent lapsing of its Tax Law Improvement Project. That
Project arose out of a recommendation in 1993 by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts that a task
force be established to restructure, renumber and rewrite the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The first
package of draft legislation developed by the Project was introduced in 1995 (the Income Tax Assessment
Act 1997). Tax Acts introduced since 1997, have, wherever possible, been drafted in the style developed
by the Project.
As the Project was designed to rewrite the tax law over a considerable time, the Australian tax system
concurrently has two operating income tax assessment Acts.
A useful point about volume of legislation is made:
‘However elegantly written, well laid out or helpfully structured, the sheer volume of information in tax
laws can be a barrier to their usefulness. While it is true that few taxpayers ever need to deal with more
than a few provisions of the law, nevertheless those parts are scattered throughout the Acts, amongst
more obscure and sometimes inoperative material.’
They have two suggestions to solve this:
1. the repeal of inoperative provisions in the income tax law
2. to collect the relevant operative provisions for individuals and small business into a separate Part.
That is, it may be possible to place all of the material required by large numbers of taxpayers with
simple affairs together in one spot. This could reduce the number of provisions these taxpayers and
their advisors need to be aware of and understand in order to fulfil their obligations under self
assessment.