Mac just for clarity I'm going to post half of the link. Just so theat Denis is qouted out of context.
The report occured in the context of the Ralph Tax review,several people where interviewed I think Denis made a submission to it.
"KEN TRAILL: Option Two is one that was raised in the Ralph Committee's platform for consultation.
Unfortunately, I'm still involved in some consultation on that.
I cannot reveal any details and will not do so.
ALAN KOHLER: Management consultant Denis Kilroy seems to be one of the few experts who is not sworn to secrecy.
He's been quietly campaigning for a year for the sort of revolution that the Ralph Committee is now looking at.
DENIS KILROY, KBA CONSULTING: And Option Two was about taxing operating cash flow, plus any realised increases in the book value of capital.
But more recently there seemed to be a suggestion that they may be moving to taxing operating cash flow and any realised increases in the market value of capital.
ALAN KOHLER: In other words, the idea is not to tax profit -- which is the creation of accountants -- but to tax increases in a business's wealth, which is made up of cash and any gains in asset values.
DENIS KILROY: When the tax system that we have today was originally set up, I'm sure that people believed that what business was all about was creating profit.
But our views have moved on.
The fundamental economic objective of business today is to create shareholder wealth.
That is done by creating value for customers and delivering that value efficiently.
Cash flow is a fact.
Profit in any form is only an accountant's opinion and it is cash flow that creates wealth for shareholders.
ALAN KOHLER: Taxing increases in wealth, instead of profits might just seem like a change in semantics, but if the Government adopts the idea it will fundamentally change the business tax system.
For one thing, it would do away for the need for a separate capital gains tax, but because the Option Two idea is secret at this stage, the public debate remains focused on capital gains tax.
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