In accordance with the terms of reference, in arriving at this final report the Working Group has provided the Treasurer an interim report and conducted a mix of public and confidential consultation.
Public submissions made in response to the interim report
The Working Group's interim report on the tax treatment of losses was publicly released on 11 December 2011. The interim report explored the tax treatment of losses in Australia, in particular how this treatment affects Australian businesses' ability to respond to changes in the local economy and developments abroad.
The Working Group invited written submissions from businesses and the wider community on the issues and ideas discussed in the interim report. To assist interested parties in making submissions, some framing questions were provided in a separate consultation guide.
Submissions were requested by 3 February 2012. The Working Group received a total of 24 submissions in response to the interim report including two confidential submissions. Public submissions were received from the following organisations and individuals:
- Association of Mining and Exploration Companies
- Australand Property Group
- Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Australian Financial Markets Association
- Associate Professor Dale Boccabella
- BDO
- Business SA
- Corporate Tax Association
- CPA Australia
- Ernst and Young
- Grant Thornton
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- Institute of Public Accountants
- Master Builders Australia
- National Tourism Alliance
- Penam Partners
- Property Council of Australia
- Real Estate Institute of Australia
- The Tax Institute
- Tourism and Transport Forum
- Tourism Accommodation Australia
- Yarrawa Management Pty Ltd
The Working Group's interim report on the tax treatment of losses was intended to elicit stakeholder views on reform priorities in this area and help us gain a better understanding of how the current system affects business decision making.
Confidential consultation on possible reforms and savings options
In light of the feedback we received in response to the interim report, the Working Group started to develop more specific reform proposals that could be costed by Treasury. Only in light of this information was the Working Group able to focus on the potential savings task.
Over the course of March 2012, representatives of the Working Group conducted meetings with stakeholders in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
The stakeholders consulted were a mix of representative bodies and individual businesses. In light of the Working Group's focus on the corporate tax loss rules, in each location there was an opportunity for members of the Corporate Tax Association to meet with representatives of the Working Group.
The Working Group asked for these meetings to be conducted on a confidential basis to allow discussions between the Working Group and participants to be as open as possible. Given the confidential nature of the meetings, the Working Group does not propose to name all of those involved in the process.