iscoverThe Board of Taxation has launched its ‘red tape review,’ and will be seeking stakeholder feedback until mid-December.
Board of Taxation opens consultation for red tape review
29 October 2025
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8 minute read
Last Friday (24 October), the Board of Taxation announced it would be opening consultation for its red tape review, first announced in September.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the board would be tasked with finding ways to cut red tape in the tax system and minimising compliance burdens to support the government’s broader productivity-boosting agenda.
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“The Government is looking at new ways to cut red tape in the tax system to ease the compliance burden on businesses and make our economy more productive,” Chalmers said.
“Today, we’ve tasked the Board of Taxation (the Board) to identify ways to responsibly reduce unnecessary compliance burdens and red tape in the tax system.”
As part of the review, the board said it would engage with the business community to find areas where tax-related compliance burdens could be eased. It clarified that broader tax policy reform was outside the scope of their review.
Chalmers noted that the review would seek to find opportunities for substantial, material and measurable areas of red tape reduction to directly support productivity.
Andrew Mills, Ian Kellock, Andrea Laing and Judy O’Conncell are set to oversee the review, the Board of Taxation said.
The board said it would run a series of consultation sessions in November 2025, and would be accepting written email submissions up to 15 December.
Through industry consultation, the Board of Taxation said it would aim to gain a better understanding of the ways in which compliance and regulation hampered business taxpayers, and how these impacts could be reduced through amendments to tax laws and administration.
Areas under the board’s spotlight included specific tax processes, registrations or requirements that could be administered differently to reduce compliance burdens. The board also said it would investigate red tape reductions involving legislative changes, and ideas to automate, simplify or remove certain tax processes or obligations.
The board also sought feedback from specific industry groups to unearth sector-specific challenges in tax compliance, and identify groups that were disproportionately affected by tax-related red tape.
Industry bodies have already responded to the Board of Taxation’s callout with ideas on how to cut down tax complexity.
CPA Australia 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.
“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.
Ainslie van Onselen, CA ANZ CEO, also welcomed the Board of Taxation's review.
“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,” she said.
“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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