Predicting the Past – The Problem of Finding a Counterfactual in Part IVA

Cooper, Graeme S.

Abstract

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Predicting the Past – The Problem of Finding a Counterfactual in Part IVA

Graeme S. Cooper

University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

August 16, 2011

Australian Tax Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 185-200, 2011
Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 11/49

Abstract:
Australia’s general anti-avoidance rule permits the revenue authority to strike down transactions which occurred and the tax consequences they generated. This is the easy step. The harder task is the next step because the rule seems to require speculation about what might have happened instead, although there is currently some dispute about just how far this speculation needs to venture and how accurately it needs to be done. Recent cases show this to be the new battleground of tax avoidance disputes – the problems that inevitably arise from having to speculate about a past that did not happen, but might have.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 23

Keywords: income tax, tax avoidance

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K34, H24, H25, H26

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Date posted: August 17, 2011 ; Last revised: August 31, 2011

Suggested Citation

Cooper, Graeme S., Predicting the Past – The Problem of Finding a Counterfactual in Part IVA (August 16, 2011). Australian Tax Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 185-200, 2011; Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 11/49. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1910990

Contact Information

Graeme S. Cooper (Contact Author)

University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

Faculty of Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia