Maheswaran Sridaran

Are Capital Gains Equitably Taxed in Australia?: a Study Which Concludes That It is Reasonable to Expect That Capital Gains Are Not Equitably Taxed in Australia Maheswaran Sridaran

This is a study on whether the Australian regime of income tax on capital gains causes widespread violation of horizontal equity. The study concludes that such violation does occur, and that there is reason to expect such violation to be widespread. That conclusion is reached through an analysis of case studies, and through a review of the processes employed to enact and administer the laws imposing income tax on capital gains. The study recognises that horizontal equity is just one among many policy objectives that a tax measure such as the income tax on capital gains must satisfy, and therefore concedes that there may be situations where a violation of horizontal equity may inevitably occur due to the need to satisfy another policy objective that is inconsistent with horizontal equity. At the conclusion of the study, recommendations are formulated to ensure the occurrence of such violations of horizontal equity is reduced. Those recommendations include a legislatively-mandated consequentialist approach to statutory interpretation.