Speed of income tax reforms in Australia vs. United States

Well its Tax time right now, and some interesting observations are emerging between Australia and the US regarding the time it took to pass the Income Tax Plan recently.

First off. The agenda-setting on this Policy can be traced back decades. But if we use the 'Australia's Future Tax System' Review (Chaired by Ken Henry) published in 2009 as a guide post, that's sum 10 years ago. And only modest changes passed in Australia's tax system since.

Conversely, when President Trump came to office in 2016, he led a Tax agenda in the US that many opposed. However, still signed the 'Tax Cuts and Jobs Act' into law on 22 December 2017 "bringing sweeping changes to the tax code" (Floyd, 2019) only 12 months later.

1. Interested in why you think the speed in the US for significant changes was so much quicker then Australia?
2. What can we learn from the Policy Making cycle in the US (Presidential-system) versus Australia's Parliamentary system?

Noting of course, that the tax rates in Australia are among the highest in the world!

References

Australia's Future Tax System Review, Chair Ken Henry, Report to The Treasurer, 22 December 2009. https://lnkd.in/gXEmPtm

Trumps Tax Plan Explained, David Floyd, 25 June 2019. https://lnkd.in/gRNZPUt