We have now covered the all three domains of the Roundtable: Economic Resilience, Productivity, and Budget Sustainability and Tax Reform.
As a dedicated tax agent, we are interested in the items presented on Day 3 of the Roundtable, which strongly signals a tax reform.
The discussion centred on how Australia can build a tax system that is fair, sustainable, and capable of funding essential public services. The tax reform will focus on intergenerational fairness, boosting investment, simplifying tax system, and quality of spending.
The following attendees were invited to contribute to this important discussion: Session-specific invitations – Treasury Media Release.
A better tax system
Dr Aruna Sathanapally, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
Aruna is the CEO of the Grattan Institute. She leads a team of policy experts across economic and tax policy, energy, health, education, disability and housing. Prior to joining the Institute, Aruna worked at NSW Treasury for over 5 years, where she led the 2021–22 NSW Intergenerational Report, and headed up the Revenue, Commercial Assets and Macroeconomy groups.
Professor Bob Breunig, Australian National University
Bob is a Professor of economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Bob was previously the Crawford School’s Director between 2015 and 2016, and is currently Director of its Tax and Transfer Policy Institute. He is also currently on the CEDA Board and the Government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. Bob has been published in over 75 international academic journals on economics and public policy, and his research is characterised by careful empirical study and appropriate use of statistical technique.
Chris Richardson, Economist
Chris is an Australian economist, commentator and columnist with the Australian Financial Review. He has previously worked for Deloitte Access Economics (and Access Economics as it was known until 2011), the International Monetary Fund and the Department of the Treasury. During his time at Deloitte and Access Economics, he was the lead author of its Business Outlook and Budget Monitor publications for over 25 years, and was on the Deloitte Australian Board for 7 years.
Rob Heferen, Commissioner of Taxation
Rob is the Commissioner of Taxation. He has over 35 years of experience in the Australian Public Service, including in policy development and program delivery roles at the Australian Taxation Office. Rob has also previously worked at the Department of the Treasury, where he led the Secretariat for the Australia’s Future Tax System Review, and had responsibility for tax policy, tax legislation and revenue forecasting, including as Deputy Secretary of Revenue Group between 2011 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Taxation, he was CEO of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
In upcoming blogs, we will take a deeper look into the policy perspectives shared by these leaders. Our goal is to provide insights from a different angle, helping our clients better understand the debates shaping the future direction of government tax reform.
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