Researchers
- Associate Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar, School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation, UNSW (Australian Human Rights Institute Associate)
- Professor Jan Breckenridge, Head of School of Social Sciences, UNSW (Australian Human Rights Institute Associate)
- Dr Jack Noone, Centre for Social Impact, UNSW
- Dr Youngdeok Lim, School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation, UNSW
- Professor Michael Walpole, School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation, UNSW
- Lily Pan, Final Year Student, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice
Funding
This project was part of the Australian Human Rights Institute's 2021 seed funding round, receiving $9,986.00.
Summary
Despite appearing gender-neutral, Australia’s tax system and welfare/social security/transfer system (the ‘tax and transfer system’) give rise to de facto discrimination and gender inequality. For example, being behind on tax returns is a significant barrier to accessing government supports; ranging from childcare to child support. Further, tax refunds may be the only significant lump sum of money that women experiencing economic abuse can independently access in any given year – yet, government departments assume that a couple will share control of finances and so make decisions like taking childcare rebate overpayments from the mother’s tax refund.
The aims of this project are to:
- assess the feasibility of the Clinic as a safe mechanism for screening for domestic and family violence (with a focus on economic abuse).
- to address the knowledge gap around the unmet need for independent tax advice among those experiencing domestic and family violence, and
- to assess the short-term benefits for the Clinic’s clients.
There are three main threads to this project. First, in addition to providing free, confidential and independent tax advice to financially vulnerable women experiencing economic abuse, this research is the first in the literature to explore the use of pro bono tax advice as a mechanism to screen for domestic and family violence.
Second, since there is currently no publicly available data quantifying the otherwise unmet need for independent tax advice among financially vulnerable women experiencing domestic and family violence, this research will be the first to address this literature gap.
Third, this research presents the first empirical analysis exploring whether mental health and financial wellbeing outcomes are improved among women experiencing economic abuse who are otherwise unable to access free independent tax advice and support and referral to external organisations.
Presentations
Ann Kayis-Kumar A, Jack Noone, Youngdeok Lim, Michael Walpole, Jan Breckenridge, ‘Let’s talk about tax – Identifying and supporting women experiencing economic abuse’, presented at The Critical Tax Symposium, Monash Law School, virtually (15 July 2021)
Ann Kayis-Kumar A, Jack Noone, Youngdeok Lim, Michael Walpole, Jan Breckenridge, ‘Let’s talk about tax – Identifying and supporting women experiencing economic abuse’, presented at 112th Annual Conference of the Society of Legal Scholars Conference, Durham University, virtually (31 August 2021)
Ann Kayis-Kumar A, Michael Walpole, Jack Noone, Youngdeok Lim, Gordon Mackenzie, ‘Up hardship creek without a paddle? Quantifying the nation-wide unmet need for tax advice’, presented at 14th International Tax Administration Conference, Sydney (23 November 2021)
2022 project update
In addition to providing free, confidential and independent tax advice to financially-vulnerable women experiencing economic abuse, this research is exploring the use of pro bono tax advice as a mechanism to screen for domestic and family violence.
Since there is currently no publicly available data quantifying the otherwise unmet need for independent tax advice among financially vulnerable women experiencing domestic and family violence, this research will be the first to address this literature gap.
The research will present the first empirical analysis exploring whether mental health and financial wellbeing outcomes are improved among women experiencing economic abuse who are otherwise unable to access free independent tax advice and support and referral to external organisations.