Fasten your seatbelts; we’re cleared for take-off!

The odds are now stacked heavily in favour of the government releasing the Henry tax review and their response to it sometime next week, perhaps Wednesday or Thursday. If the report is not released then, it will certainly be released the week after, which would make it the week before the Federal Budget on 11 May.

As you know, this week the government managed to achieve a breakthrough agreement (of sorts) with the Council of Australian Governments agreeing to the Commonwealth’s proposed changes to the administration and funding of health care. All states and territories agreed to the deal, except for Western Australia, which is holding out for a better deal. But putting that to one side, the point is, now that the health reform issue has been (mostly) put to bed, the government can shift its focus to tax reform. Finally, I hear some of you say.

Last night (Thursday 22 April), Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner was interviewed on ABC’s Lateline program where he said that the government’s response would not only deal with the recommendations made by Dr Ken Henry, but would in fact go beyond the specific recommendations in some areas.

I interpret what Minister Tanner said as suggesting that in some areas of the tax system the government may not in fact adopt Dr Henry’s recommendations, but rather may choose to implement different initiatives that address the underlying issues identified by the review.

Even though we’re still waiting on the 'verdict,' it is becoming clear from sources on the ground in Canberra that the government’s response to the Henry tax review is comprehensive, and that the campaign around its release is about to be unleashed on us all. This is a big deal, and this is a big event. My advice: sit down and fasten your seat belts… tax reform is about to take off!