AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

The thesis studies particular aspects of the income tax system that have relevance for corporations and their directors, and combines insights into corporate, criminal and tax law to reach conclusions. Little has been written on this topic, thus the thesis seeks to fill a gap in the literature. The aspects of tax administration considered are: the environment in which directors operate and how this is affected by the way in which the tax system is administered; responsive regulation; the risk differentiation framework adopted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO); and how the ATO responds to a corporation’s non-compliance with its tax obligations. The thesis uses a combination of the doctrinal and reform-orientated approaches to determine that the means adopted by the ATO to administer tax further complicate what is already a complex task for companies and directors. Moreover, at times, these means do not represent the most effective way of administering the tax system. Changes are proposed to how tax is administered, both to ensure best practice and to enhance the ATO’s ability to respond to corporate non-compliance.