Paul, a meaningful tax reform should start with a effort to bring taxation in line with reality. The same applies to industrial relations.
In 1954 I commenced work as an articled clerk on 4 pound per week. A competent typiste earned about 13 pound per week. That was reality. That was what I was worth. that was what a typiste was worth.
My first income tax return ( yes I paid income tax out of the 4 pound)
took half an hour for an 18 year to complete.
There were no rebates in those days- just deductions. You paid tax simply on what was left of your gross income after paying what was necessary to earn it.
If the tax system got back to reality it would be fairer and would save huge amounts now spent on tax experts and public servants, involved in the churn of tax in, grants out.

Give deductions ( not rebates ) for medical and dental expenses, reasonable cost for getting to work, cost of child care necessary to get to work, split family income between family members ( with reasonable limits for children ) allow schooling costs of children as a deduction, adjust rates of tax as necessary and you eliminate most the cost of the "churn".
A large number of tax accountants and public servants would be diverted to productive occupations, people would pay tax on what they really have left from their gross income. Many child carers would just care for children for the real cost of the caring would be obvious.

Company tax , with franking credits is reasonable in Australia but could be simplified ( at least for most small companies) to a strictly cash- cash out basis with a capital item replacement deduction ( instead of depreciation)
Give it some thought.

The only measure that will restore equity, is a complete jettisoning of the current tax collection system, and replacing that with an unavoidable expenditure tax!
No compulsory books to keep, and only taxed as funds leave accounts as expenditure, thereby assisting thrift.
In an economy, said to be 1.6 trillion, an 18% expenditure tax, will raise 380 billions.
And given all compliance costs are rendered null and void, or entirely unnecessary, there's a saving to the average bottom line of 7%!
Meaning, the effective tax rate for business is down to 11%; and the lowest in the world.
Who in their right mind, would pay good money, to try and avoid that?
The unavoidable nature of such a measure, will bring every current avoider back into the tax fold, giving most offshored corporations, cause to pause, and perhaps think, our bottom line would now be quite vastly improved in real terms, if we returned or relocated to Australia?
Were that to occur, the tax take would be at least trebled!
And there are some very smart energy options, which as publicly supplied essential service, would be the cheapest by around half, energy in the world.
Add to that, the two preferred outstanding energy options, thorium or almost free biogas, consumed in ceramic cells, with an energy coefficient of around 80%, [the highest in the world,] are also carbon free, there'll be no penalty to pay, when we export anything processed or manufactured here.
Given the inherent savings, with the GST, fuel excise, PAYE ,PAYG, and payroll tax gone.
The real saving to business through this very simplicity, are far greater, around 30%; and household disposals would rise by at least 20% for similar reasons!
Meaning a non-contributory, mandated super of 15% is immediately doable.
And the tax rate alone can be varied microscopically, to alone control all inflation or stagnation; meaning, interest rates can come down even lower and be set and forgotten, to boost the non-mining economy, with all the loud pedal, it can safely tolerate, indefinitely!
Rhrosty.

...When buying real estate, it's "Location,location,location": When it's viability of small business it's "Rent,rent,rent".

...Inflexible and repressive rents, kill small business as stone dead as any tax regime will!

The states will howl like wounded banshees, when we take away the GST!
However, their loss of revenue, can be made good with a direct federal funding model for public health and education, both of which would need to be means tested, to assist budget outlays.
Even so, and with much more regional autonomy, there are real savings to be had here, of around 30-40% estimated.
And money which could fully fund both Gonski and The NIDIS!?
Nothing and nobody is ultimately served by complicated convolution.
Ditto, by us being the most over governed country in the world bar one.
Many Asian countries how long since removed their states, given they serve no useful purpose, that can't be done at least as well by enlarged councils and the fed, with even less than current staff!
And this simplification would save the economy, a further 70 billions per; the cost of double handling middle men, state Parliaments, before they supply so much as a single service.
Of course self serving pollies, will put their interests ahead of the electorate or the nation?
And you can bet, they'll blithely agree others have done it, but it won't work here?
Why not?
Because these great big booming frogs in tiny little puddles, will resist real reform, almost as if their positions, generous salaries, expense accounts, livelihoods and ultra generous pensions depend on it, rather than anything actually credible or cogent!
Much of this, onerous to the entire nation; cost, is squeezed out of small business, as state fees, state charges or state taxes!
Rhrosty.

Diver mate, if we decided to follow the example of Canadia, you know, that mythical place and best friends Tony Abbott just visited, we would simply exclude foreigners from owning real estate, commercial or residential, be they, our new best friends, Canuks or Chinese?
This very sound measure, would finally and none to soon, exclude economy killing foreign debt laden speculators; and, would likely flood the market with commercial property, and allow locals a real look in.
And not before time, given a highly reformed tax system as envisaged, there'd be no offsets for rent or any other business cost!
And given a base rate of 11% amended, no fuel excise, no GST, no PAYG either, there'd be no point in wasting time, chasing your tail?
When the new goal and extra time and cash flow, would be better invested, building your "unchained" business, and the additional income it can earn for the proprietor!
That said, there's nothing that prevents cashed up foreigners of good character and repute, migrating here, and bringing their investment cash/retirement nest egg with them, nor should there be!
Cheers, Rhrosty.

Well might the small business entrepreneur's tax offset be re-instated.
But can we go beyond tax problems to a fundamental problem facing SMEs and that is predation by corporates in the marketplace. (Diver Dan's comment is relevant here.)
The ACCI has consistently ignored this crucial domain. So whose interests does ACCI ultimately serve?
More, ACCI needs to clean up its political partisanry, as manifest gratuitously in this article and as reflected in the unstinting support of the grotesque Abbott-Hockey budget.
The notion that the dramatic drop in SME's contribution to overall employment is due to Labor in office is absurd.