Category: Uncategorized

STRIVING FOR INTERGENERATIONAL WELLBEING

Abstract

New Zealand’s most recent Tax Working Group (‘the TWG’) differs from previous tax review groups due to the unique frameworks upon which they based their assessments. The final report of the TWG used Treasury’s Living Standards Framework (‘LSF’), with its goal of ‘intergenerational wellbeing’, alongside both a traditional tax assessment framework and Te Ao Māori principles.

This article seeks to explore whether and how the frameworks used by tax review groups in New Zealand have influenced the conclusions they have reached and the recommendations they have made. In particular, this article considers how the LSF influenced the TWG to reach conclusions that previous groups considered but did not get ‘over the line’. The conclusion is that the LSF was highly influential upon the outcomes of the TWG. The TWG placed greater weight upon equity, the environment and distributional outcomes. The result of this change in emphasis was recommendations that are weighted in favour of social and environmental issues over economic growth.

DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE

THE TREATY AND THE TAX WORKING GROUP: TIKANGA OR TOKENISTIC GESTURES?

Abstract

This paper engages with the Māori perspectives in the Tax Working Group Future of Tax report. It is argued that a Māori worldview can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable tax system, and that engaging with Māori people and worldviews beyond tokenistic and obligatory gestures has the potential to alter/disrupt prevailing systems of public policy in subtle yet commanding ways. Two frameworks informed by Māori knowledge within the report are introduced and evaluated for their ability to inform and enhance policy development. One aspect of these frameworks is explored in detail and it is argued that while this can provide a profound shift in thinking, rights must be acknowledged and addressed to avoid tokenism. We conclude that achievement of genuine government–Māori partnership in policy development requires clear strategies that communicate to the public why Māori engagement in developing tax policy is not only an obligation on the government of New Zealand under the Treaty of Waitangi, but will result in positive outcomes for all New Zealanders.

DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE

UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE AUSTRALIAN TAX SYSTEM

Abstract

Due to changes in the labour force and the effects of growing income inequality, sustenance payment policies such as Universal Basic Income (UBI) are increasingly being looked to as possible solutions. Typically, tax law concerns the extraction of money from individuals to fund government spending, however the idea of a UBI provides a different way of conceptualising the transfer system. This paper examines if UBI legislation would be valid under the Australian Constitution and the potential impacts it may have on Australian tax law.

DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE