Tax can take you to the top

They say only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. But with a postgraduate tax qualification, such as a Graduate Diploma in Applied Tax Law from The Tax Institute, you can add a third to that second certainty: a range of diverse and interesting career options. Here are just a few.

Get political

A solid understanding of the tax system is a good grounding for aspiring politicians. Long before she was spending her days defending Medicare changes and fielding questions from journalists, Minister for Health Sussan Ley studied a Master of Taxation law. On the other side of the chamber, former Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury undertook postgraduate tax law – studies which led to a senior associate in taxation law position with the corporate law firm Blake Dawson before he entered parliament.

Join the Big Four

After a challenging period post-GFC, Australia's big four auditing firms – Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young – are eyeing growth in consulting services to drive revenue growth. No doubt they’ll be looking for go-getters with advanced tax training to help them hit their targets.

Scale the corporate ladder

Taxation knowledge can be your ticket to the top in the corporate world. A Master of Taxation helped Mark Weinberger become global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young – and that's after he served as the Assistant Secretary for tax policy of the US Treasury.

Shape the economy

There are few things that have such an impact on a nation’s economy and its citizens as its taxation system. Granted, you may not get the respect or remuneration offered in other fields, but if you use your postgraduate tax course to get a job with the Australian Tax Office (which runs a graduate program), you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’re playing a vital role in shaping Australia’s economy.

One other thing to remember is that a postgraduate tax qualification could be your passport to travel the world. Harry Tonino, for example, worked on four continents after getting a Master of Taxation and ended up as International Tax Expert at the UN, where he spends his workdays undertaking tasks such as negotiating tax treaties.

So if you’re struggling to find the motivation to undertake further tax training, consider this: that tax course you complete might just be a stepping stone to the CEO suite, the Lodge or a top job at the UN.


Take the next step in your tax career with the Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law 

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