The Role of Income Taxation in Natural Resources Management
It is widely accepted that accelerated depreciation concessions, such as sections 75B and 750, are a poor means for government to address environmental objectives. This position is further supported by recent information highlighting the limited behavioural effect of this form of intervention. The continued existence of poorly targeted subsidy measures, in the face of mounting evidence of their ineffectual nature, suggests they are an important source of political benefits. It is further proposed that as assistance to agriculture declines, the political value of 'generic' policies providing economic rents to industry, such as taxation concessions, will increase and potentially impede the development of agricultural-environmental policy. The further point made is that significant environmental gains will be associated with a greater degree of policy complementarity, not only among elements of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, but among elements of rural policy generally.
Improving the Efficiency of Taxation of Livestock in Australia
In this paper, the neutrality of the income tax provisions for livestock are examined and compared with policies in selected other countries. It is argued that the current system provides significant concessions by deferring the recognition of income. The deferral of recognition of income distorts investment decisions by providing an incentive to invest in livestock which is not available for similar investments. A more efficient system, based in part on the New Zealand National Standard Cost Scheme is suggested, as are possible transition measures.
Military Expenditure, Arms Imports and Third World Debt During the 1980s
One of the ‘costs’ of military imports and military expenditures by developing countries occurs to the extent that these are financed by incurring foreign debt. This article estimates that, for 61 severely and moderately indebted developing countries, military imports during the 1980s were equivalent to about 28% of new foreign debt incurred. When military expenditures as a whole are examined, the proportion is around 77%. Had these countries made no military expenditures during the 1980s, they could have borrowed very little and/or allocated far more of the borrowed resources to productive purposes, thus making future debt servicing burdens much lighter and/or easier to meet.