Taxation

Taxation should be based on the substance of income, not just the label attached to it. Whether income comes from wages, investments, business profits, or other sources, it represents financial gain and should be treated fairly under the tax system. Accountants and tax advisers may use different names—salaries, dividends, capital gains, trust distributions—but that doesn’t change the fundamental reality that all these forms of income contribute to a person’s financial position.

A fair tax system ensures no one can exploit technical definitions to pay less than their fair share, while others shoulder more of the burden. The rules should apply consistently, regardless of how income is structured or categorized.

My priorities include:

■ Adjust income tax brackets for inflation annually to stop bracket creep. This will ease financial pressure on families and ensure governments remain fiscally responsible.

■ Fund States to remove Stamp Duty and transition to annual land tax as a replacement. This will be achieved by granting States the equivalent amount of Stamp Duties and then recouping the grant from the land tax payments until the debt is cleared.

■ Remove the Capital Gains Tax discount and apply straight-line appreciation of capital gains over the time an asset is held.

■ Revisit the Henry Tax Review, officially titled Australia's Future Tax System, publicly released on May 2, 2010, and implement the ignored recommendations.

■ Prevent income shifting and tax avoidance by restricting discretionary trust distributions to low-taxed individuals, enforcing mandatory reporting, and strengthening anti-avoidance rules.

■ Tax trust income at the trust level through a corporate or minimum tax rate, or apply marginal tax rates above a threshold, ensuring beneficiaries have a genuine economic interest.

■ Remove the ability of international companies to profit shift and avoid paying Australian company tax.

Fair Taxes for All