The Uniformity of Taxation Penalties in Australia

Taxation penalties are a significant yet often ignored factor in the consideration and evaluation of tax systems when considering reform. The purpose of this article is to explore the arguments for and against the uniformity of taxation penalties using the Australia uniform tax penalty system in pt 4-25 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) as an illustrative case in point. This article firstly assesses the system in Australia for internal congruency and examines whether pt 4-25 has successfully created a ‘one stop shop’ for penalties. The answer to this is that pt 4-25 has certainly reduced undesirable complexity. The seamless addition of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax has proved one of the advantages of such a system, but there are some issues that are worthy of further reform. The article secondly examines whether the uniformity of penalties ought to be prescribed and concludes that there are arguments against uniformity that have contributed to a number of jurisdictions retaining a more specific penalty regime.