iscoverThe government has tasked the Board of Taxation with slashing red tape and reducing compliance burdens, a move welcomed by accounting industry bodies.
Accounting bodies welcome Board of Taxation ‘red tape’ review
26 September 2025
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8 minute read
On Wednesday (24 September), Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that the government would look at new ways to cut red tape in the tax system and reduce unnecessary compliance burdens.
“This is all about reducing the regulatory and compliance burden across the economy to support productivity growth,” Chalmers said.
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“As part of the review, the Board will consult with businesses and the broader community to identify areas of business tax law and administration where there are opportunities for red tape reduction.”
Following the August economic reform roundtable, the government said that industry had reached a clear consensus that regulatory reform was necessary to boost Australia’s stalling productivity.
Chalmers said that the Board would be encouraged to make changes in direct support of the government’s productivity-boosting agenda.
“The Board will look for substantial, material and measurable areas of red tape reduction that directly support productivity,” he said.
CPA Australia welcomed the government’s pledge to reduce tax complexity and highlighted three areas for immediate work.
First, it called on the government to simplify BAS reporting and expand simplified trading stock rules. It also called on the government to introduce a simplified FBT regime for small businesses.
The industry body added that Australia’s technical legislative GST provisions were ‘unworkable’ for taxpayers, tax agents and the ATO, and needed to be fixed.
“Simplifying BAS reporting and expanding simplified trading stock rules are some steps that would cut compliance costs and free up business owners to focus on running their business,” CPA Australia’s tax lead, Jenny Wong, said.
“The complexity of Australia’s fringe benefits tax regime is another area ripe for reform. Small businesses should not face the same compliance load as large corporates, yet many currently spend more on FBT record-keeping than on their actual liability. We encourage the government to follow the New Zealand example and consult on a review of FBT to make it less complex and more targeted.
“This review also provides an opportunity to fix longstanding technical flaws in GST law that have frustrated businesses and advisers for decades. Addressing unworkable provisions is not tax reform, it is simply making the law function as intended.”
Wong urged the Board of Taxation to prioritise practical reforms that would deliver immediate benefits for small businesses.
“Cutting tax red tape must mean simplifying what’s broken, not adding new layers of complexity.”
Ainslie van Onselen, CA ANZ CEO, also welcomed the Board of Taxation's review.
“CA ANZ has been advocating for some time on the need to modernise Australia’s tax system, so it’s welcome news that the government has now asked the Board of Taxation (the Board) to look at ways to cut red tape to ease the compliance burden on business," she said.
“Our members have raised many times over many years, the ever-growing burden on their clients, and their own practices, in complying with tax obligations.
“We know our members help their clients navigate the administrative burdens of the tax system. These range from the complexity of trust provisions which are no longer fit-for-purpose and hampering the potential growth of modern-day family businesses, to the excessive compliance burden of Fringe Benefits Tax."
She added that CA ANZ would provide the Board of Taxation with feedback and ideas on ways to cut down unnecessary compliance burdens.
“CA ANZ will use this opportunity to give the Board, constructive feedback on areas of inappropriate compliance burdens, including suggestions on how best to alleviate red tape to improve Australia's productivity."
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