The Chairman of the Board of Taxation, Mr Richard Warburton, tonight welcomed the Assistant Treasurer’s announcement that the Government supports most of the recommendations of the Board of Taxation’s review of the legal framework for the administration of the GST and that it will implement the majority of recommendations from 1 July 2010.
This is the first review undertaken of the GST since its introduction in 2000. While overall the Board found that the GST is operating effectively, there are some aspects of the tax that impose unnecessarily high compliance costs on taxpayers. The Board made a number of recommendations that when implemented will make an important contribution towards simplifying the administration of the GST and reducing compliance costs for taxpayers.
In response to the Board’s recommendation that the Government further examine the issue of cross‑border transactions, the Assistant Treasurer has tonight announced that he has asked the Board to undertake a review of the application of GST to cross‑border transactions, in particular the extent of non‑resident participation. The Board welcomes this new review, with a report to be provided to Government by the end of February 2010. Further information on this new review and the terms of reference can be found on the Board of Taxation website.
The Chairman expressed his thanks to those who contributed to the review of the legal framework for the administration of the GST, including the individuals and organisations that participated in the Board’s consultation forums and made submissions, members of the Board’s working group chaired by Mr Eric Mayne, the Board’s Advisory Panel, officers of the Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office and the staff of the Board’s Secretariat.
The report is available from the Board’s website at www.taxboard.gov.au.