BA 3301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 57: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Taxation In Australia, Unearned Income
Document Summary
Topic 1 functions and objectives of taxation. What is a tax? (cid:120) for commonwealth constitutional purposes, tax is defined as a compulsory exaction of money by a public authority for public purposes, enforceable by law, and is not a payment for services rendered. Matthews v chicory marketing board (1938) 60 clr 263 at 270. (cid:120) key features: compulsory payment, government purpose, not payment for services, systematic not arbitrary. (cid:120) taxes are a contribution, not a pecuniary penalty. Pecuniary penalties are incurred for failing to comply with the income tax legislation. Why do we have taxes: historical background. English taxation (cid:120) the 1842 act has a schedular approach, where different classes of income were taxed according to specific sets of rules. This allowed for a distinction between earned and unearned income, where unearned income incurred a higher tax rate. (cid:120) s 1 of the 1842 act had 5 schedules:
