Harry Cossar-Gilbert

Harry Cossar-Gilbert is a PhD Candidate at Melbourne Law School. He researches across the fields of taxation law, political philosophy, and distributional analysis. His primary research interest is in exploring taxation law and policy and its impacts on economic inequality. Before commencing his PhD at Melbourne Law School, Harry worked for Slater and Gordan in the class action team. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science.

Thesis Title

Should the real GST be expanded in Australia? A Normative and Empirical Review

Thesis Summary

The thesis aims to assess whether expanding the consumption base and the GST is normatively desirable from a Rawlsian perspective. Part 1 will outline the traditional tax framework adopted in much of the literature, discuss some of its normative limitations and then present an alternative Rawlsian framework. Part 2 will then assess whether expanding the consumption base and the GST specifically can satisfy the requirements of a Rawlsian framework. This involves reviewing existing literature as well as conducting new data analysis to determine the impact of consumption taxes on revenue collection and the distribution of income and wealth in Australia.

Supervisors

• Dr Kathryn James
• Professor Miranda Stewart
• Associate Professor Daniel Halliday
• Associate Professor Nicolas Herault

• Taxation Law