Conference program now available
For the first time this preeminent biennial event that brings together leading tax administrators, academics and practitioners from around the globe will be a combination of face to face and virtual participation. In keeping with these challenging times we have chosen these dates to maximise the option of you being able to join us in person but with the flexibility to join us virtually if you can't.
The theme of the 2021 conference is: 'New Frontiers in Tax Administration'. During this two-day event, conference speakers will explore key tax administration issues including:
- cutting-edge initiatives in service delivery and compliance including digital and data use, tap and go, and artificial intelligence;
- data policy, ethical data exploitation, cyber security and new developments in regulating data platforms;
- globalisation of revenue administration; and
- tax dispute resolution and new approaches to protecting the financially vulnerable including the elderly, impaired and those in remote areas.
Presenters who previously had papers accepted please note we will be in touch to advise you of the new deadline for papers in case you want to refresh yours to take account of recent extraordinary developments!
Location: Conference: Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney, 2000 & Dinner (23 November): The Tea Room, QVB, 455 George Street, Sydney, 2000
When: 9-5pm, 23 & 24 November 2021
Contact: Maree Magafas, UNSW Business School
Conference organisers have secured with the Hilton a special delegate rate of 10% off the advertised day rate. To book, please visit here or call on +61 (0)2 9266 2000 referring to group code GUNSWD for a discounted rate (10% off from hotel best available rate).
| Day 1: Tuesday 23 November 2021 | |||
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| 08.30-09.00 | Registration and Coffee on Arrival | ||
| Session 1: Plenary (Chair: Professor Michael Walpole) | |||
“Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr |
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| 09.00 - 09.05 | Professor Michael Walpole, Professor, School of Accounting Auditing and Taxation, UNSW Business School: Introductions and Housekeeping |
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| 09.05 - 09.20 | Professor Chris Styles, Dean UNSW Business School: Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Delegates |
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| 09.20 - 09.30 | Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute: Welcome to Delegates on Behalf of ADBI (Tokyo time: 07.20am – 07.30am) |
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| 09.30 – 10.00 | Chris Jordan AO, Commissioner of Taxation, Australia: Challenges and Opportunities for a New Decade in Tax Administration |
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| 10.00 – 10.30 | Naomi Ferguson, Commissioner and CEO of Inland Revenue, New Zealand: New Frontiers – A New Zealand Perspective (New Zealand: 12 noon – 12.30) |
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| 10.30 – 11.00 | Morning Tea | ||
| Session 2: Parallel Streams | |||
| “When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” Plato | |||
Stream A Compliance: How Important is the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility? |
Stream B Digitalisation: Evolution or Revolution? |
Stream C (brought to you by ADBI) Tax Administrative Responses to the Digitising Economy: An Asia-Pacific Perspective |
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| Chair: Mandy Cheng | Chair: Dale Boccabella | Chair: Chul Ju Kim (Japan: 9.00am - 10.30am) |
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| 11.00 – 11.20 | Rebecca Saint Deputy Commissioner, ATO The Role of Transparency in Large Market Tax Compliance |
Yan Xu Digital Revolution? Blockchain as a Driver for the Rule of Law in Tax Administration in China |
Professor Chris Evans Special Address New Frontiers for Tax in the |
| 11.20 – 11.40 | Rodney Brown Increased Public Scrutiny to the Rescue? A Study of the Responses to the Australian Senate Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance |
Helena Strauss, Tyson Fawcett & Danie Schutte Global Digital Response of Tax Administrations to a Digitalised Economy (Vienna: 1.20am - 1.40am) |
Visions and Challenges of
Panel Discussion |
| 11.40 – 12.00 | Kerrie Sadiq & Bronwyn McCredie The Effectiveness of Voluntary Corporate Tax Disclosures: An Australian Case Study (Brisbane:10.40am - 11.00am) |
Jennie Granger, Bernadene de Clercq & Andy Lymer Tapping Taxes |
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| 12.00 – 12.30 | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A |
| 12.45 – 14.00 | Lunch | ||
| Session 3: Plenary (Chair: Professor Paul Andon) | |||
| “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to procure the largest quantity of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing.” Jean-Baptiste Colbert | |||
| 14.00 – 14.30 | Karen Payne, Inspector-General of Taxation, Australia: Insights from the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman on SME Compliance (with 10mins Q&A) |
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| 14.30 – 15.00 | Dr Mark Pizzacalla, Partner, BDO, Former Board of Taxation: Australia: SMEs – Balancing Taxpayer Compliance with Government Administration |
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| 15.00 – 15.30 | Michael O’Neill, Secretary/CEO of the Australian Tax Practitioners’ Board Australia’s Regulatory Environment for Tax Intermediaries |
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| 15.30 – 15.50 | Afternoon Tea | ||
| Session 4: Parallel Streams | |||
| “There’s nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won’t cure.” Dan Bennett | |||
Stream A Compliance: At What Cost? |
Stream B Digitalisation: People v Machines |
Stream C (brought to you by ADBI) Tax Administrative Responses to the Digitising Economy: An Asia-Pacific Perspective |
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| Chair: Jeff Coulton | Chair: Yan Xu | Chair: Seungju Baek (Japan: 11.50am – 13.20pm) |
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| 15.50 – 16.10 | Rodney Brown & Kerrie Sadiq Diagnosing the Corporate Income Tax Compliance Burden: A Cross-Country Assessment |
John Bevacqua Tax authority immunity in a Digital Tax Administration World (Melbourne 14.50pm -15.10pm) |
Bruno Carrasco Special Address ADBI’s Role in Support of Tax Reforms |
| 16.10 – 16.30 | Hughlene Burton, Binh Tran-Nam, Stewart Karlinsky & Robert Deutsch Perceptions of Large Business Tax Law Complexity in Australia |
Kalmen Datt Automated Assessments: Valid or Invalid – That is the Question (Sydney) |
The Role of Technology in
Panel Discussion
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| 16.30 – 16.50 | Ann Kayis-Kumar, Michael Walpole, Jack Noone, Youngdeok Lim & Gordon Mackenzie Up Hardship Creek Without a Paddle? Quantifying the Nation-wide Unmet Need for Tax Advice |
Robin Woellner It’s a Bad Look! (Sydney) |
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| 16.50 – 17.20 | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A |
| Dinner MC: Professor John Taylor | |||
| 18.00 – 21.00 | If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. J.R.R. Tolkien Presentation of Sandford Medal Dinner Venue: Tea Room, Queen Victoria Building |
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| Day 2: Wednesday 24 November 2021 | |||
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| Session 5: Plenary (Chair: Professor Jennie Granger) | |||
“We must collect taxes without causing unnecessary burden to citizens. Just as a flower is not hurt when the bee draws nectar from it, so also should the king not disturb the taxpayer when he collects taxes.”. Kautilya (c. 350-275 BCE) |
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| 09.00 – 09.30 | David Bradbury Latest Developments in International Taxation: An OECD Perspective. (Paris: 11:00pm –11:30pm) |
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| 09.30 – 10.00 | Bernard J McCabe, Deputy President Administrative Appeals Tribunal: Modelling Good Decision-Making Behaviour in Tax |
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| 10.00 – 10.30 | Hank Williams, Deputy Commissioner General, Tax Administration Jamaica: Transforming Jamaica’s Administration Using Technology to Improve Compliance (Jamaica: 18:00pm – 18:30pm Tues 23 Nov) |
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| 10.30 – 11.00 | Morning Tea | ||
| Session 6: Parallel Streams | |||
Stream A Compliance and International Collaboration: Are we on the Right Track? |
Stream B Taxpayer Litigation: Time to Rethink? |
Stream C (brought to you by ADBI) Tax Administrative Responses to the Digitising Economy: An Asia-Pacific Perspective |
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| Chair: Binh Tran-Nam | Chair: Youngdeok Lim | Chair: Farhad Taghi Zadeh Hesary | |
| 11.00 – 11.20 | Karen Powell & Monica Hope The Digital Economy and International Tax Regulation: Historical Lessons from Securities Law |
Mahmoud Abdellatif The Influence of Tax Administration Digitalisation on VAT Compliance: The Case of Egypt (Qatar: 3.00am - 3.20am) |
Harnessing Digitalization for
Panel Discussion
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| 11.20 – 11.40 | Michael Dirkis The Last Frontier: Assistance in Debt Collection |
Duncan Bentley Tax Officer 2030: Robo Homo Sapiens (Melbourne 10.20am -10.40am) |
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| 11.40 – 12.00 | Q & A based upon previous 2 papers | Q & A based upon previous 2 papers | Q & A |
| 12:00-12:15 | Livestream book launch: New Frontiers for Tax in the Digital Age |
Livestream book launch: New Frontiers for Tax in the Digital Age |
Livestream Book Promotion: New Frontiers for Tax in the Digital Age |
| 12.15 – 13.15 | Lunch | ||
| Session 7: Plenary (Chair: Professor Chris Evans) | |||
| “[Understanding tax] is too difficult for a mathematician. It takes a philosopher.” Albert Einstein | |||
| 13.15 – 13.45 | Nina Olson, Director Center for Taxpayer Rights: Taxpayer Advocates – Role in Dispute Resolution and Systemic Change (Washington: 21.15pm – 21.45pm, 23 Nov) |
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| 13.45 – 14.00 | Belema Obuoforibo, Director, IBFD Knowledge Centre: 6 The Taxpayer’s Right of Appeal to an Independent Body – Pertinent Issues for Developing Countries (Amsterdam: 3.45am – 4.00am) |
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| 14:00- 14.20 | Jeremy Hirschhorn, Second Commissioner Client Engagement ATO “Beyond Tax Gap: How A Better Understanding of Tax Performance Changes Tax Administration”. |
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| Session 8: Parallel Streams | |||
| “Death, taxes and childbirth! There is never any convenient time for any of them.” Margaret Mitchell | |||
Stream A Compliance: By Design |
Stream B Digital Data Opportunities and Challenges |
Stream C (brought to you by ADBI) Tax Administrative Responses to the Digitising Economy: An Asia-Pacific Perspective |
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| Chair: Noel Harding | Chair: Kathrin Bain | Chair: Nella Sri Hendriyetty (Japan: 12.00 –13.00pm) |
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| 14.20 – 14.40 | Richard Highfield & Neil Warren How Can Tax Gap Inform Tax Policy and Administration? A Case Study of Australia’s Individuals Income Tax |
Andrew Maples, Melinda Jone & Alistair Hodson Inland Revenue Facilitated Conferences: Better Than Settling Disputes with ‘Clubs and Spears’? (New Zealand: 16.00pm -16.20pm) |
Digital Disruption and Tax
Panel Discussion
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| 14.40 – 15.00 | Binh Tran-Nam, Richard Highfield, Chris Evans & Michael Walpole Evaluating the Tax Compliance Burden: Developments in Research Methodology and Empirical Application |
Adrian Sawyer Enhancing Taxpayers’ Rights in New Zealand: An Opportunity Missed (New Zealand: 16.20pm - 16.40pm) |
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| 15.00 – 15.20 | Hao Wu Identifying Potential Tax Audit Targets: An Experiment to Indirectly Model Individual Tax Compliance Decisions |
Karen Stark, Sharon Smulders and Elza Odendaal Strategies for Tax Compliance Cost Mitigation – Views from South African Individual Taxpayers (Pretoria: 5.40am - 6am) |
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| 15.20– 15.40 | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A based upon previous 3 papers | Q & A |
| Session 9: Plenary (Chair: Fiona Martin) Assisting Vulnerable Taxpayers | |||
| “Logic and taxation are not always the best of friends.” James C. McReynolds | |||
| 15.55 – 16.15 | Hoa Wood, Deputy Commissioner, Individuals and Intermediaries, Australian Tax Office An ATO Perspective: Assisting Vulnerable Taxpayers (Perth: 12.55pm – 13.15pm) |
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| 16.15 - 16.35 | Ann Kayis-Kumar, Paul Viola & Michael Walpole Tax Clinics: Reaching the Financially Vulnerable |
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| 16.35 - 16.50 | Panel Q & A | ||
| Session 10: Plenary Panel (Chair: Andrew Mills) | |||
| “Tax is not a four-letter word; rather, it’s the price we pay for the country we want.” Alex Himelfarb | |||
| 16.50 – 17.35 | Last Word on a Developing Future: Justified Trust?
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| Session 11: Close Professor Michael Walpole | |||
| “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin | |||
| 17.35 - 17.50 | Professor Michael Walpole Conference Close |
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| 18.00 | Drinks | ||