The compliance costs of personal income taxation in Australia, 1986/87

This study into the compliance costs of personal income taxation is, as far as the authors are aware, the first to be undertaken in Australia. Our task has been one of identification and estimation. Similar studies have been undertaken in both the UK and USA. It is hoped that this report will focus attention on an important yet neglected area of most people's lives, namely the time and money spent in order to be able to complete an income tax return. Whilst it is accepted that the findings of this research may be controversial, it is hoped that many of the issues explicitly or implicitly raised in this report will be addressed by the decision-makers in Australia, namely the Commonwealth Government, Parliament and the Australian Tax Office. The outcome that we are thus seeking from this research is an informed policy debate.