Making tax fairer not harder: how compliance changes may reduce the current inequities in Australia's taxation system

Taxation is essential for society to run effectively but the enormous compliance burden of
Australia’s current taxation system contributes to unfairness for taxpayers. Capital Gains Tax (‘CGT’) is a key example of how tax compliance measures exacerbated societal inequity. This article suggests it may be time for the Government, through the Australian Taxation Office (‘ATO’), with the assistance of technology, to reduce the self-assessment compliance burden on taxpayers so that the complexity of taxation law does not exacerbate inequity.