Volume 20, Issue 02, Article 1 – Grant and De Zwaan

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ASSESSING THE THRESHOLD OF THE DIVISION 293 CONTRIBUTIONS TAX

Abstract
There has been sustained criticism in recent years over the equity of Australia’s superannuation system tax concessions. While some tax concessions are considered necessary to incentivise retirement savings, the system post-2007 gave a greater benefit to those in higher tax brackets – people who would most likely save for their retirement regardless. The perceived inequity has prompted several reforms, including the introduction of the Division 293 tax. This tax, effective from the 2012-2013 income year, levies an additional 15 per cent contributions tax on high-income individuals. When originally introduced, the threshold for high-income was set at $300,000 per year, however recent legislative amendments have reduced this threshold to $250,000, and the Australian Labor Party has put forward a proposal to lower it even further to $200,000.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate proposed thresholds for the additional 15 per cent tax on high-income earner concessional superannuation contributions contained in Division 293 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth). We then investigate the effects of applying the Division 293 tax at different thresholds on the amount and distribution of contributions tax concessions. Finally, we determine at which threshold the Division 293 tax should be applied to best satisfy the proposed purpose of superannuation.

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Volume 20, Issue 01 – Yong and Vosslamber

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Race and Tax Policy: The Case of the Chinese Poll Tax

Abstract
The Chinese poll tax was introduced in English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, during the nineteenth century. Though this tax was justified on social and economic grounds, it is largely a race-based tax as it was targeted at Chinese immigrants. This article provides a historical analysis of the New Zealand and Californian (American) poll tax. It also evaluates the relationship between the poll tax and immigration. Given the widespread Chinese poll tax in these countries, this evaluation has international significance, and demonstrates the central role of taxes in the formation and maintenance of civic identity. It also has contemporary implications given the extensive number of racially diverse immigrants, including the Chinese, who have migrated and are migrating to Western developed nations.
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Volume 20, Issue 01 – Barrett

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VACANT PROPERTY TAXES AND THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING

Abstract
As parties to fundamental human rights instruments, Australia and New Zealand have undertaken to provide their citizens with adequate housing, that is, somewhere to live in security, peace and dignity. Nevertheless, homelessness, which is the starkest manifestation of inadequate housing, is a significant social problem in both countries. Homelessness is one feature of an inequitable and inefficient distribution of scarce housing resources; residential properties left vacant is another. Vacant property taxes (‘VPTs’), which are gaining popularity around the world, are an obvious response to this mismatch between lack and surplus. In this article, I consider what homelessness means in Australia and New Zealand, and discuss whether VPTs respond proportionately to the lack of adequate housing.

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