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1 – 10 of 634The purpose of this paper is to look at the recent history of proposals to tax resource rents in Australia, from Australia’s Future Tax System Report (the “Henry Tax Review”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look at the recent history of proposals to tax resource rents in Australia, from Australia’s Future Tax System Report (the “Henry Tax Review”) through to the proposed Resource Super Profits Tax (“RSPT”) and then the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (“MRRT”). The process of change from Henry to the RSPT to the MRRT can best be understood in the context of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as a capitalist workers’ party. The author argues that it is this tension in the ALP, the shift in its internal balance further towards capital and the lack of class struggle, that has seen Labor preside over what the father of rent tax in Australia, Ross Garnaut, describes as a “problematic” tax.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research using Marxist tools.
Findings
The paper argues that the poor health of the MRRT is a consequence of the nature of the Labor Party as a capitalist workers’ party, the shifts in power and influence within its material constitution and in essence the ascendency of capital in the capitalist workers’ party.
Originality/value
A very original approach to understanding the nature of the MRRT in Australia.
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Keywords
Politics of Australian GST revenue distribution.
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB213190
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Commodity-producer countries react to low prices and sector sluggishness.
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB206923
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Rima Kusuma Rini, Desi Adhariani and Dahlia Sari
This study aims to investigate the association between corporate tax avoidance and environmental costs and disclosure in Indonesia and Australia for the research period 2015–2019…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the association between corporate tax avoidance and environmental costs and disclosure in Indonesia and Australia for the research period 2015–2019. This study also analyzes corporate strategies for overcoming public concerns about tax avoidance activities, namely, the trade-off legitimacy and risk reduction strategies, through two mechanisms: the mediation and moderation roles of environmental disclosure on the relationship between environmental costs and tax avoidance activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consists of 675 and 235 observations for Australia and Indonesia, respectively, which were analyzed quantitatively using panel regression.
Findings
The results showed that the trade-off legitimacy or risk reduction strategies are not found to be implemented by companies in Indonesia, while in Australia, corporations use the trade-off legitimacy strategy to reduce risk and overcome the negative impact of tax avoidance activities. The results also provide empirical evidence on the impact of environmental costs on environmental disclosure in both countries.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by providing the latest evidence on the role of environmental costs on environmental disclosure, which has rarely been investigated in previous studies.
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Edward Tello, James Hazelton and Shane Vincent Leong
A primary tool for managing the democratic risks posed by political donations is disclosure. In Australia, corporate donations are disclosed in government databases. Despite the…
Abstract
Purpose
A primary tool for managing the democratic risks posed by political donations is disclosure. In Australia, corporate donations are disclosed in government databases. Despite the potential accountability benefits, corporations are not, however, required to report this information in their annual or stand-alone reports. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the quantity and quality of voluntary reporting and seek to add to the nascent theoretical understanding of voluntary corporate political donations.
Design/methodology/approach
Corporate donors were obtained from the Australian Electoral Commission database. Annual and stand-alone reports were analysed to determine the quantity and quality of voluntary disclosures and compared to O’Donovan’s (2002) legitimation disclosure response matrix.
Findings
Of those companies with available reports, only 25 per cent reported any donation information. Longitudinal results show neither a robust increase in disclosure levels over time, nor a clear relationship between donation activity and disclosure. The findings support a legitimation tactic being applied to political donation disclosures.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that disclosure of political donations in corporate reports should be mandatory. Such reporting could facilitate aligning shareholder and citizen interests; aligning managerial and firm interests and closing disclosure loopholes.
Originality/value
The study extends the literature by evaluating donation disclosures by companies known to have made donations, considering time-series data and theorising the findings.
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Caillan John Fellows and Brian Dollery
In an effort to boost participation in vocational education and training (VET), in 2009, the Australian Government launched its VET FEE-HELP income-contingent loan programme for…
Abstract
Purpose
In an effort to boost participation in vocational education and training (VET), in 2009, the Australian Government launched its VET FEE-HELP income-contingent loan programme for VET students. The programme was terminated in 2016 following numerous failed attempts to arrest its escalating costs and improve its performance. In an effort to shed light on the failure of the VET FEE-HELP programme, in this paper, the authors offer estimates of the aggregate costs involved and the quantum of graduates.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors examined the VET FEE-HELP programme through the analytical lens offered by Marsh and McConnell’s (2010) framework, which offered a broad, “big-picture” view covering three dimensions of policy success or failure.
Findings
By identifying the causes of the failure, the authors concluded that the features of the scheme designed to improve accessibility of VET also allowed for exploitative behaviour on the part of VET providers, causing deterioration in training quality and leading to a substantial amount of wasteful public expenditure.
Originality/value
The authors seek to illuminate the demise of the hitherto neglected programme to contribute towards the literature on Australian Government failure.
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A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential tax base, and undervalue what they do measure. The purpose of this paper is to present more comprehensive and accurate measures of land rents and values, and several modes of raising revenues from them besides the conventional property tax.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies 16 elements of land's taxable capacity that received authorities either trivialize or omit. These 16 elements come in four groups.
Findings
In Group A, Elements 1‐4 correct for the downward bias in standard sources. In Group B, Elements 5‐10 broaden the concepts of land and rent beyond the conventional narrow perception, while Elements 11‐12 estimate rents to be gained by abating other kinds of taxes. In Group C, Elements 13‐14 explain how using the land tax, since it has no excess burden, uncaps feasible tax rates. In Group D, Elements 15‐16 define some moot possibilities that may warrant further exploration.
Originality/value
This paper shows how previous estimates of rent and land values have been narrowly limited to a fraction of the whole, thus giving a false impression that the tax capacity is low. The paper adds 14 elements to the traditional narrow “single tax” base, plus two moot elements advanced for future consideration. Any one of these 16 elements indicates a much higher land tax base than economists commonly recognize today. Taken together they are overwhelming, and cast an entirely new light on this subject.
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Kerrie Sadiq and Richard Krever
Tax policymakers are currently navigating a path through a delicate dialectic of macro- and micro-level policy responses to the economic dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Tax policymakers are currently navigating a path through a delicate dialectic of macro- and micro-level policy responses to the economic dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to examine initial tax measures that are aimed at helping taxpayers needing liquidity, solvency and income support.
Design/methodology/approach
This study undertakes a review of key tax policy responses of six jurisdictions across the globe that have similar tax regimes and virus mitigation strategies (albeit with different outcomes). Key initiatives implemented from February to April 2020 by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK are examined.
Findings
This study indicates that tax concessions are a crude and mostly ineffective way of assisting individuals and enterprises in difficulty. In the longer term, if the crisis prompts desirable reforms such as extending the recognition of tax losses, the income tax system will emerge fairer and more efficient.
Practical implications
An investigation of the short-term reforms announced relating to asset write-offs, tax deferral, tax losses and goods and services tax/value-added tax rates in light of the liquidity, income support and stimulus objectives shows that in some cases the policies may have been misguided. The findings can be used by policymakers as the basis for designing better targeted alternative non-tax responses.
Originality/value
Jurisdictional responses to tax policy reforms during a modern period of significant economic dislocation have yet to be documented in the literature. Specifically, this paper highlights the limitations of tax policy initiatives as a response to financial hardship.
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This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and…
Abstract
This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.
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