Native Title and taxation reform

Abstract

This brief paper is adapted from a submission in response to the Australian Government’s Consultation Paper ‘Native Title, Indigenous Economic Development and Tax’. The Consultation Paper mainly canvasses options for income taxation reforms with very little actually said about Indigenous economic development.

This paper raises four key issues and ends with a brief conclusion and five recommendations. The key issues are: 1. What is motivating the native title taxation reform process given that the recently completed (Henry) Review of Australia’s Future Tax System made no mention of taxation of native title? 2. What are the intersections between native title payments and the income tax system? 3. What are the lessons to be learnt from the operations of the Mining Withholding Tax? 4. What are the lessons to be drawn for tax policy making from the 2010 Resources Super Profits Tax debate?

Commentary in this paper draws largely on the author's research on these issues from 1982 to the present. Show more