Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?

In April 2008, the New Zealand Government issued a government tax policy discussion document considering whether families should be able to access a form of income splitting through the New Zealand tax system. In Australia and New Zealand, as with most other OECD countries, the individual is the u...

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Main Author: Hodgson, Helen
Format: Journal Article
Published: Thomson Brookers 2008
Online Access:http://www.thomsonreuters.co.nz/new-zealand-journal-of-taxation-law-and-policy/productdetail/121315
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38704
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author Hodgson, Helen
author_facet Hodgson, Helen
author_sort Hodgson, Helen
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In April 2008, the New Zealand Government issued a government tax policy discussion document considering whether families should be able to access a form of income splitting through the New Zealand tax system. In Australia and New Zealand, as with most other OECD countries, the individual is the unit of taxation. In applying the principles of equity, families are entitled to certain benefits,currently delivered primarily through the welfare system. This results in a mismatch between the unit taken into account for tax and welfare. In this article, the author explores the concept of the tax unit. The article will review, first, the two main methods of joint taxation, being the accumulation method and the income splitting method, examining the equity and efficiency of each method. The article will then review the New Zealand proposal in the context of this analysis. Finally, some of the alternative methods of providing support for the family will be discussed.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-387042017-01-30T14:25:01Z Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax? Hodgson, Helen In April 2008, the New Zealand Government issued a government tax policy discussion document considering whether families should be able to access a form of income splitting through the New Zealand tax system. In Australia and New Zealand, as with most other OECD countries, the individual is the unit of taxation. In applying the principles of equity, families are entitled to certain benefits,currently delivered primarily through the welfare system. This results in a mismatch between the unit taken into account for tax and welfare. In this article, the author explores the concept of the tax unit. The article will review, first, the two main methods of joint taxation, being the accumulation method and the income splitting method, examining the equity and efficiency of each method. The article will then review the New Zealand proposal in the context of this analysis. Finally, some of the alternative methods of providing support for the family will be discussed. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38704 http://www.thomsonreuters.co.nz/new-zealand-journal-of-taxation-law-and-policy/productdetail/121315 Thomson Brookers fulltext
spellingShingle Hodgson, Helen
Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title_full Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title_fullStr Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title_full_unstemmed Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title_short Taxing the Family – The Tax Unit: Should New Zealand Adopt a Family-Based Income Tax?
title_sort taxing the family – the tax unit: should new zealand adopt a family-based income tax?
url http://www.thomsonreuters.co.nz/new-zealand-journal-of-taxation-law-and-policy/productdetail/121315
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38704