Australian Legal System Essay

PART I:

1. Name- Australia
2. Geographic location- Australia is both a country and a continent. Its geographic location is in Oceania, between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.
3. Population- Australia has a population of 23.13 million people.
4. Economy- Australia has a mixed market economy that is very strong. Australia is so strong because of its high GDP (“International car hire”). Its GDP per capita is 67,458.36. Its economy thrives from the hard workers they have weather they are farmers, businessmen, or own their own corporation. Not only is that but their government consistent and thriving.
5. Political- Australia’s political system is a constitutional monarchy. All of Australia’s government is chosen from parliament,
Legal system- Australia has two different types of law within the country; one is statutory law and the other is common law. Australia has statutory laws for making bills that will later turn into acts only if the houses of parliament approve the bill. In Australia the federal parliament is only allowed to make laws about certain issues like marriage, divorce, taxes, bankruptcy, and immigration ("Overview of the Australian Legal System”). The federal parliament is the one that control all of Australia’s money. Leaving the states to be able to make the decisions about health and education. Whereas the other type of law that is found within Australia, which is, the common law is based off of what the courts hear, see, and think is right to make a law. If the statutory law for whatever reason vetoes the common law then that particular common law is taken away and the courts/judges will follow the act that the statutory law put into place ("Overview of the Australian Legal System”). Australia’s bases there accounting standards from the Australian accounting standards board (AASB) and “have the force of law for Corporations law entitles under a 296 of the Corporations act 2001” ("Australian Accounting
Taxation- Australia has taxes that get paid to local, state, and federal governments. There is income tax that each citizen has to pay too the federal government. The Australian legislation has rules for people and companies to see if they are a foreign worker/company or a resident to figure out what their tax situation would be. They have double tax agreements with many other places all over the world so people/ companies do not have to pay taxes twice. Because they have double tax agreement they do offer a credit to people that are paying their taxes in a different country (“A Guide to Taxation in Australia - Hall & Wilcox”). A person’s income tax comes from their total assessable income for that current year. One may file for deductions only if they are not from personal expenses. Australia also has taxes on capital gains (CGT). They are included in each person’s income taxes; a person’s car or motorcycle, any personal assets, and property would be exempt from CGT (“A Guide to Taxation in Australia - Hall & Wilcox”). If these assets have been in ones hands for more than one year then all residents of Australia can receive a 50% discount for taxation. Not only does Australia have income tax but also consumption tax, FBT, Medicare Levy, superannuation tax, and luxury car tax. Consumption tax is a 10% tax this added on to food, health care, and education. This is a tax that comes along with the purchase being made, so adding on 10% on top of the price listed is what one