The Business Council of Australia today welcomed the Treasurer’s commitment to the adoption of the Tax Value Method (Option 2), and urged that its introduction not be unduly delayed by the removal of the July 1, 2001, deadline.

The Executive Director of the BCA, Mr David Buckingham, said the council recognised that the Tax Value Method needed to be introduced sensibly and only after an extensive consultation and education process.

“It is by the establishment of the Board of Taxation that we can now have this addressed systematically and comprehensively,” Mr Buckingham said.

“The design and implementation of the Tax Value Method can now proceed with appropriate input from the business community and other stakeholders. It will improve significantly the quality of the taxation system and the fundamental sources of many of the problems that characterise existing arrangements.

“For reasons of clarity, competitiveness and stability, we cannot afford to drag the chain in the pursuit of this key reform.”

Mr Buckingham said the BCA had been a strong supporter of the adoption of the Tax Value Method as a means of improving the coherence and consistency of income tax law.

“The BCA has also supported the adoption of the Board of Taxation as originally recommended by the Review of Business Taxation,” he said.

“The primary objective of this recommendation was to improve the quality of tax legislation. The substantial additions to tax law over the past year or so, and further legislative changes to be introduced in the near future, highlight the need for greater accountability in the design of legislation and the importance of effective consultation with the business community.

“In this context, the announcement of the government’s intention to establish the Board of Taxation is very welcome.

“The BCA would like to extend its warmest congratulations to Mr Warburton on his appointment as the inaugural Chair of the Board of Taxation.”