An examination of Australia's insider trading laws

Considers that the effective regulation of insider trading is desirable in order to maintain investor confidence in Australia's share markets. Although the current laws and the use of continuous disclosure provide a workable foundation, the thesis further considers the ways in which insider trading may be more effectively regulated and prosecuted in Australia.

A.R.T., surrogacy and legal parentage : a comparative legislative review

This is one of three Occasional Papers published by the Victorian Law Reform Commission as part of the Commission's work on assisted reproduction and adoption. A central issue which arises in the context of assisted reproduction is how to recognise and protect the best interests of children who are conceived through assisted reproduction. The three Occasional Papers deal with different aspects of this question. This Paper examines how laws in the other Australian states, and in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada regulate access to assisted reproduction, control the use of surrogacy and deal with issues relating to parentage of children conceived through assisted reproduction. Generally, this legislation gives priority to protecting the best interests of children, but the way in which this is done varies considerably.

Income tax test, materials & essential cases

A comprehensive cases and materials book intended for commerce or law students undertaking semester-length courses in Australian income tax law.

Concise income tax

This is a thorough yet concise examination of the most significant areas of taxation law. Cassidy identifies the key elements underlying the statutory provisions, uses a plain English writing style, and a simple, clear format. The text discusses the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Concise income tax

Major changes have been made to a number of aspects of Tax Administration, such as the taxation penalty regimes, methods of lodging tax returns and types of Rulings issued by the ATO.

Concise income tax

The fourth edition of this standard text on taxation law continues to provide a comprehensive, yet succinct, examination of the most important areas of income taxation law. Almost every chapter in the book has had to be updated to reflect recent legislative amendments and judicial determinations including the changes to tax administration, particularly with regard to non-ruling ATO advice, rulings, and amended assessments; the controversial promoter penalty provisions which were introduced to deter the promotion of tax avoidance schemes; the new category of taxpayers, "temporary residents," who enjoy many of the benefits of non-residents; the significant expansion of the allowable expenses for capital gains purposes which has arisen as a result of changes to the cost base; the limiting of the deductibility of losses and outgoings pertaining to certain illegal activities; and the increase in the types of expenses that may be deducted under the "blackhole" provisions in Div 40-I.

Characterisation of foreign entities for tax purposes

The thesis explores the characterisation of foreign legal entities from the perspective of Australia's taxation regime. It also examines entity characterisation methodologies in the US, the UK and Germany. It proposes how juristic existence conferred on foreign forms of association should be dealt with in an Australian tax context.

The 1999 review of business taxation's small business reforms

This thesis considers the 1999 Review of Business Taxation's small business reforms. It is argued that policy problems arose from flaws in the Review's policy design processes and in weaknesses in the enactment processes of the federal Government. This created policy structural defects, resulting in substantial levels of community criticism.

Australian legal regime on animal based bio-medical research

This thesis, by using evaluative criteria based on overseas law, scientific evidence, philosophy and ethics, concluded that the Australian legal regime regarding animal based bio-medical research for human benefit only partly met one of that regime's major objectives of adequately protecting research animals during the entire research process.

Retirement income policy and the taxation of superannuation in Australia

Superannuation is a form of savings for retirement. The savings are invested and earn income, but the proceeds are generally not available until the beneficiary reaches retirement age} The federal government's retirement income policy has three components, two of which relate to superannuation: the age pension, which provides income support to men aged 65 and over and to women aged 62 and over.2 The pension is means tested and does not depend on previous labour force participation or individual contributions; a compulsory superannuation scheme (under the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (Administration) Act 1992 (SGA Act)), which requires contributions to be made by employers on behalf of all employees, whether full-time, part-time or casual;3 and encouragement, through the taxation system, of voluntary contributions to approved superannuation funds.4 In May 2002, the government released a report, the "Intergenerational Report", 5 which identifies issues associated with Australia's ageing population and considers the fiscal implications of those changes. The Report noted that a steadily ageing population is likely to place significant pressure on government finances. It also noted that one of the key priorities for ensuring fiscal sustainability should be "maintaining a retirement income policy that encourages private saving for retirement and reduces the future demand for the Age Pension". 6 The main way the government has sought to encourage that private saving is through the tax system, primarily by the use of tax concessions. Over the past 20 years, however, the taxation of superannuation has grown in an extremely ad hoc manner and is now inequitable, inefficient and overly complex. This article suggests that the taxation of superannuation in Australia is in urgent need of a complete review. The article further asserts that, if an appropriate framework can be devised, changes could be introduced as budgetary pressures allow.

The disunity of employment law and sentencing

This article discusses the lack of integration between criminal sanctions and employment deprivations (in the form of being dismissed from employment or disqualified from working in certain industries). Offenders who are employed in certain industries, especially the professions, often suffer a far greater net punishment upon being found guilty of a criminal offence than other offenders, thereby violating the principle of proportionality and the (related) principle of equality in the impact of sanctions. The reason that such a situation has developed is because criminal sanctions and employment deprivations have evolved from different streams of jurisprudence. This article argues that sentencers should impose a ‘net’ sanction for a criminal offence, thereby merging these streams of jurisprudence. This would require courts to be vested with the power to suspend or disqualify people from being employed in certain occupations. The legal analysis in this article focuses on case and statutory law in Australia, however, the same broad principles apply in all common law jurisdictions, including the UK. Hence, the reform proposals suggested in this article are relevant throughout the common law world.