Ralph condemns tax legislation as a mess

Legislation covering the Ralph reforms will simply add to the mess created by the existing tax act, says its author John Ralph.

Legislation covering the Ralph reforms will simply add to the mess created by the existing tax act, says its author John Ralph.

“Our aim was to have all new legislation introduced by November last year, but consequently the reforms are now being unlocked by amending existing legislation.

“By adopting that approach it means many more pages are being added to the Tax Act, which is already a mess. This will just add to the mess.”

Ralph was speaking in Melbourne at the launch of Arthur Andersen’s new book explaining the Ralph reforms.

He said the aim of the reforms was to follow the substance of transactions for taxation purposes, which meant a tax system that ‘in principle’ was easily understood and applied.

Ralph believes that by passing the reforms as a new Act would have shaved at least 1000 pages off the existing legislation. This could have meant a Tax Act of 2000 pages instead of the probable 6000 pages that will now eventuate.

Arthur Andersen’s new book, has already sold out of its initial print run of a 1000 and a hasty reprint is underway. It outlines the impact of the new business tax system and suggests strategies for business to profit from the reforms.

The book’s editor, Arthur Andersen tax services partner Tony Stolarek, says business is now faced with three years of continuous change.

“It is clear there will be winners and losers from tax reform,” he says. “Our intention is to summarise these key changes to help the reader be a winner.”

Areas covered in the book include assets and depreciation, capital gains tax, entity taxation for companies and trusts, savings vehicles and tax changes for small business.