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Law Subject Guide

Find online and print resources for law

Overview

Taxation law research guide

The resources on this page are useful for taxation law research, particularly in the LAW3500, LAW3501 or LAW6132 UniSQ courses.

 

Key taxation law databases Two students looking at a laptop

These databases contain sources such as legislation, case law, Australian Tax Office rulings, looseleaf commentary services and journals covering taxation law issues.

Photo by UniSQ Photography

Key databases

The Westlaw Australia database contains various resources for tax law, including the Australian Tax Reports (cases).

Select the Practice Area > Tax & Duties on the database entry page to access resources such as:

  • Australian CGT Handbook
  • Australian GST Handbook
  • Australian Income Tax 1936 Act and Other Legislation Commentary
  • Australian Income Tax 1997 Commentary
  • Australian Tax Review
  • Australian Trusts Tax Handbook
  • Capital Gains Tax Commentary
  • Fringe Benefits Tax Commentary
  • GST Commentary
  • GST Legislation Plus
  • Tax Rates and Tables
  • Thomson Reuters Tax Examples
  • Thomson Reuters Tax Q & A

The below video demonstrates how to navigate Westlaw's practice area pages, using employment law as an example.

Searching and Browsing by Practice Area Westlaw Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2024) <https://support.thomsonreuters.com.au/product/new-westlaw-australia/video/searching-and-browsing-practice-area-westlaw-australia-229-min>.

The CCH iKnowConnect database contains the following types of taxation information:

  • tax legislation and case law
  • tax commentary
  • the Master Tax Guide, Master GST Guide and Master Tax Examples
  • ATO rulings
  • information specifically on fringe benefits tax, capital gains tax and goods and services tax topics.

The advantages of CCH include value-added information, such as headnotes (summaries) of cases, summaries of rulings and tax law commentary, analysis and examples. Access tax-related information using the following options in the briefcase icon in the left-hand menu:

  • FBT
  • GST
  • Income tax
  • Payroll tax
  • Tax administration and compliance
  • Tax agent regulation
  • Tax treaties and agreements

Use the Master Guides option in the left-hand menu to access the Master Tax Guide, Master GST Guide and Master Tax Examples. 

See the below resources for help with using CCH iKnowConnect.

Information in the ATO Legal Database is freely available. In addition to the above information, it includes ATO interpretative decisions, as well as withdrawn rulings for historical research. See About the Legal database for an explanation of these sources.

For help with using the ATO Legal Database, see the ATO Legal Database Search Tips Guide (UniSQ login required) and the ATO Legal Database Help area.

Use Browse > Topics > Tax Law to access information on a particular aspect of taxation. The below video demonstrates how to use the browse topics area generally.

LexisNexisAustralia, 'Lexis Advance Tutorial: How to Browse Publications and Topics' (YouTube, 8 July 2019) <https://youtu.be/IwrjWWuH-r4?si=ADt_J1X4K4K-5tHo>.

Australian Tax Handbook

Australian Tax Handbook

 

A comprehensive resource available in Westlaw Australia covering the full spectrum of income tax law, related taxes and tax reform.

See the Australian Tax Handbook Help Guide (UniSQ login required) for guidance with using this online handbook.

 

Key taxation law textbooks

Key taxation law journals

Key taxation law journals

Use the resources mentioned earlier in this guide to search for journal articles on taxation topics. Selected key journals are shown below.