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JAT Volume 22 Issue 2 – CDU Tax Clinic

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NATIONAL TAX CLINIC PROGRAM IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA: A PROJECT MODEL INNOVATION

INDRA ABEYSEKERA

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the Charles Darwin University Tax Clinic (‘CDU Tax Clinic’) —located in Australia’s Northern Territory —as part of the inaugural National Tax Clinic Program conducted over the course of 2019. The CDU Tax Clinic was designed as a teaching clinic in order to assist unrepresented taxpayers with their taxation affairs while offering students real-world, client-based and practical experience. The project design considered the population distribution of the Northern Territory and ways of reaching unrepresented taxpayers located in three major towns, adopting an intrapreneurial and client-centred approach with the CDU Tax Clinic open seven days per week. In the period from late June 2019 to the end of October 2019, the CDU Tax Clinic served 266 clients in various ways, with six students undertaking work experience. The average time spent with a client was approximately two and a half hours. This paper provides a roadmap to maximising outreach to clients in a thinly populated geography. The findings are analysed in terms of clients who visited the CDU Tax Clinic and are generalisable to such populations. This paper shows the impact of a social project assisting socially disadvantaged groups, and a university engaging with the community through a professor and students.

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JAT Volume 22 Issue 2 – ANU Tax Clinic

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2019 National Tax Clinic Project: the ANU Tax Clinic

BEN RAINES AND SONALI WALPOLA

Abstract
The ANU Tax Clinic was launched in August 2019 with the objective of delivering a social benefit to the community and providing a novel work-integrated learning opportunity for ANU Accounting students. The clinic provides information and guidance on income tax to lower- income individuals through one-on-one consultations and also provides free tax education seminars. In 2019, client consultations were conducted at the premises of community partner organizations at four locations in Canberra. This article describes the purpose and design of the ANU Tax Clinic, and provides an account of the 2019 experience, including how it has informed 2020 operations.

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JAT Volume 21 Issue 2 Article 6 – Walker

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ANALYSING NEW ZEALAND’S DIGITAL SERVICES TAX PROPOSAL

Abstract
The allocation of taxing rights for cross-border digital profits is a critical issue for the 21st century. The New Zealand government has responded with a discussion document proposing a digital services tax as an interim measure. Given the lack of global consensus on solutions for the issue, a digital services tax is a serious possibility. This article examines the government’s proposal.

The proposal’s rationale is based on active contribution, which is conceptually weak and contains several interpretative issues. The proposal fails to distinguish between traditional businesses and highly digitalised businesses (‘HDBs’) and, as a result, business activities of traditional businesses are, theoretically, in scope. However, high de minimis thresholds ensure that only large HDBs are liable.

Fundamentally, there is a lack of evidence that HDBs are paying tax at a lower effective rate than other businesses. Given this, it is strange that an international effort has been made to tackle HDBs. Furthermore, this unilateral approach could dangerously reduce multilateral cooperation in tax matters.

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