Researching tax using technology : a survey of student attitudes

Technology and the Internet play an ever-increasing role in tax research and the current practice of tax. Hard-copy resources are becoming less common and increasingly information is being provided in electronic form and/or available on the Internet. This change has important ramifications for the way tax research is conducted. A primary source of information in the tax arena is the Australian Taxation Office website. This site contains a vast amount of information, which by necessity makes navigation of the site complex. However, this is an important resource which is freely available to the public so the importance of learning to navigate this resource so as to fully utilise the information available cannot be understated. This paper explores the attitudes of tax students towards the Internet generally, and the Australian Taxation Office website specifically, to determine whether students need further assistance in accepting the use of technology as the medium for tax research.