CPA Australia has called on the Federal Government to substantially revise or defer its proposed tax reform legislation, warning that the Bill has been rushed through without adequate consultation and could impose significant costs on taxpayers and small businesses.
In a submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, CPA Australia raised concerns about the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, describing it as one of the most significant tax reforms in a generation but one that has been developed through an inadequate consultation process.
CPA Australia tax lead, Jenny Wong, said the organisation supports well-designed tax reform but believes the current legislation is not ready to proceed in its existing form.
“This is not a case of resistance to reform – it is a case of reform that could be done better,” Wong said.
According to CPA Australia, the legislation was introduced without an exposure draft, consultation paper or formal stakeholder engagement. Stakeholders were given just 11 days to respond to legislation that could affect millions of Australians, while the committee reviewing the Bill has only 24 days to report.
Wong said the compressed timeframe had resulted in avoidable errors that could have been identified through more comprehensive consultation.
CPA Australia’s analysis estimates the reforms will create ongoing annual compliance costs of between $295 million and $542 million. In addition, one-off transitional costs are expected to range from $675 million to $825 million, largely due to the requirement for millions of Australians to establish market values for capital gains tax assets from 30 June 2027.
“The compliance burden is real, it is sizeable, and it will fall disproportionately on everyday Australians rather than the high-wealth investors that this policy was intended to target,” Wong said.
The accounting body also expressed concern about the impact on small and medium-sized businesses and start-up founders. It argues that replacing the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with CPI indexation could disadvantage business owners who built value from low-cost or nominal investments.
To address this, CPA Australia has proposed retaining the 50 per cent CGT discount for active business assets where aggregated turnover does not exceed $20 million.
The organisation has also criticised the Bill’s reliance on nine ministerial instruments that have not yet been released, arguing Parliament is being asked to approve legislation without visibility of key policy settings.
CPA Australia is urging the committee to recommend delaying the Bill until identified gaps and errors are addressed and further consultation is undertaken.
“These are fixable problems, but they need time and proper consultation to get the details right,” Wong said.