John Gunn CBE
Citation
JOHN ANGUS LANCASTER GUNN was born in Brisbane of Scottish descent, John Gunn’s early life was spent in various parts of rural Queensland. On 16 February 1915 he embarked on five years active service in Egypt, initially engaged in fieldwork with the Army Service Corps and later at Australian Army Headquarters in Cairo. As a Captain he returned to Australia in July 1920 and was formally discharged in November 1920. Following de-mobilisation he studied for admission to the Institute of Incorporated Accountants of NSW (IIA-NSW), later Commonwealth Institute of Accountants (CIA), qualifying in 1923. In 1928 he enrolled as a part-time Bachelor of Economics student at the University of Sydney setting up as a sole practitioner at the same time. He qualified for membership of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) in 1932 and subsequently joined chartered accountant, Paul Cullen practising under the firm name of J.A.L. Gunn & Paul Cullen. Interstate links forged with Fitzgerald & Tompson in 1961 produced the national firm of Fitzgerald Gunn & Partners an antecedent of the present-day EY. John Gunn spent his entire professional career in Income Tax and established a major national reputation, acknowledged by clients, professional colleagues and government authorities alike. In taxation publishing circles he is best known for the substantive volume Gunn's Commonwealth Income Tax Law and Practice. This monumental work, first published by Butterworth in 1943 eventually ran to seven editions with co-authorship up until his death by several of his partners. It was the only comprehensive reference on Australian income tax for many years. In 1934 he gave extensive evidence to the Ferguson Royal Commission on Taxation. High-level work for the Commonwealth Government followed and included membership of the Taxation Advisory Committee from 1943 to 1945, the Canteen Board 1943 to 1945 and the Commonwealth Committee on Taxation 1949 to 1954. Stepped rates of tax and reforms to company tax were major outcomes from this latter committee. In 1948 he assisted the Maltese authorities in writing a new Income Tax Bill. John Gunn delivered research lectures for the then Commonwealth Institute of Accountants at the University of Melbourne in August 1942 and the University of Western Australia in October 1946. Throughout his career John Gunn retained membership of the Australian Society of Accountants and the ICAA. He was a Councilor of the antecedent IIA-NSW from 1926 to 1930 and of the CIA from1937 until 1939. For his war service John Gunn received the British War Medal, 1914/15 Star and the Victory Medal. In recognition of his contribution to reforms and development of taxation law in Australia John Gunn was made Commander of the British Empire in 1955 and in 1956 he was awarded Life Membership of the Australian Society of Accountants.
The Australian Accounting Hall of Fame honours John Angus Lancaster Gunn as a war veteran, practitioner, office holder and eminent pioneering taxation specialist.
Biography
John Angus Lancaster Gunn CBE was born in Brisbane of Scottish descent, John Gunn’s early life was spent in various parts of rural Queensland where his secondary education was very limited. Moving to Sydney in 1912, he found manual work as a porter for the NSW Railways and enrolled in accounting evening classes. Aged 22, he enlisted in the AIF in Sydney on 16 February 1915, embarking as a Staff Sergeant for five years active service in Egypt, initially engaged in fieldwork with the Army Service Corps and later at Australian Army Headquarters in Cairo. Commissioned Honorary Lieutenant in August 1916, he was promoted to Captain in December 1918, returned to Australia in July 1920 and was formally discharged in November 1920. John Gunn gave over five years of his life to the war effort in an important supply and logistics role.
Following de-mobilisation he worked as a yet-to-qualify accountant for a firm of Sydney lawyers, while also studying for admission to the Institute of Incorporated Accountants of NSW (later Commonwealth Institute of Accountants), qualifying in 1923. In the late-1920s, through economic necessity, he conducted private coaching classes in the evenings at Watson House, the location of his private practice, where one of his early students was future MP and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, W.C. Wentworth. In 1928 he enrolled as a part-time Bachelor of Economics student at the University of Sydney. While an evening student at the university and without setting out to be a tutor, he became a leader within his own group of fellow students. One was future economic eminence John (later Sir John) Crawford, then an 18-year old undergraduate, who later wrote “In my year John Gunn was the one who stood out as a kindly example of humanity, good-humoured worldly wisdom and a first-class academic mind. He was a godsend to the group of us who met at the Union for dinner …and at lectures”. In the late 1930s he lectured in Business Principles at the University of Sydney.
John Gunn set up as a sole practitioner in Watson House, Bligh Street, Sydney, in 1928 and following success in qualifying for membership of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in 1932, he joined chartered accountant Paul Cullen practising under the firm name of J.A.L.Gunn & Paul Cullen. Strong personal connections with A.A. Fitzgerald and obvious mutual respect between the two men, forged particularly through their editorial responsibilities on the Australian Accountant,produced interstate links as the national firm, Fitzgerald Gunn & Partners, a significant antecedent firm of the present-day EY in 1961. John Gunn spent his entire professional career concentrating in one particular field, Income Tax, in which he established a major national reputation acknowledged by clients, professional colleagues, governments and government authorities. In those distant, less-litigious times, income-tax consulting was the province of accountants rather than lawyers. At the professional level in later years, he would meet with fellow tax practitioners after hours, often members of rival firms, to share experiences. He was leader and president of this group which was widely known in tax circles as the “Gunn Club”. Later still he became a well-known speaker on taxation, particularly within the accounting bodies of which he was a member. He continued in practice until his death in 1962.
Through his career John Gunn retained membership of the Institute of Incorporated Accountants of NSW for whom he served as a Councillor from 1926 to 1930, the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants, NSW for whom he was also a Councillor from1937 until 1939 and The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia as a member from 1932 to 1962.
In taxation publishing circles John Gunn is undoubtedly best known for the substantive volume Gunn's Commonwealth Income Tax Law and Practice. This monumental work, first published by Butterworth in 1943 eventually ran to seven editions with co-authorship by several of his partners up until his death. From 1963 it continued under the authorship of Bock and Mannix. This series was the only comprehensive reference on Australian income tax for many years and was highly regarded by all involved with the subject. Eminent corporate lawyer and company director, Sir Norman Cowper, described this work as “A massive volume, easy to use, well-indexed, and remarkably comprehensive. It gave references to and, in many instances, extracts from every relevant tax decision, not only in Australia, but in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries, and illuminated difficult points with well-chosen examples. It was the rich product of industry, scholarship and critical intelligence”.
John Gunn delivered research lectures for the then Commonwealth Institute of Accountants at the University of Melbourne in August 1942 and the University of Western Australia in October 1946.
High-level work for government included membership of the Taxation Advisory Committee from 1943 to 1945, member of the Canteen Board from 1943 to 1945, taxation advisor to Dr Colombo, Finance Minister of Malta in 1948 and member of the Commonwealth Committee on Taxation from 1949 to 1954. Prior to these assignments, in 1934, he gave extensive evidence to the Ferguson Royal Commission on Taxation, which included E.V. Nixon as a commissioner. In 1943 he was called to Canberra by Commonwealth Treasurer Ben Chifley to be a member of a three-man Taxation Advisory Committee, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation Central Office. He spent most of his time in Canberra that year. At the international level, in 1948 during a private visit to Malta, through the auspices of the naval Provost-Marshall, Commander Bowerman RN, he was introduced to the Maltese Finance Minister Dr Colombo. This meeting resulted in an assignment where he assisted the Maltese authorities in writing a new Income Tax Bill. Following the advent of the Menzies government in 1949, the incoming Treasurer Sir Arthur Fadden appointed him to a six-man committee to “examine and report upon specific aspects of income tax and other taxes referred to it by the Treasurer”. The matters dealt with by the committee and subsequently implemented, included stepped rates of tax and reforms to company tax.
For his war service John Gunn received the British War Medal; 1914/15 Star; British War Medal and the Victory Medal, 1918. In recognition of his contribution to reforms and development of taxation law in Australia John Gunn was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1955. In 1956 he was awarded Life Membership of the Australian Society of Accountants.
John Gunn was probably the major figure in Australian taxation accounting in the three decades before his death in 1962. He served his country in important capacities during wartime and was a substantial peace-time contributor to the development of Australia's taxation system, accounting profession, and accounting and taxation literature. These high achievements were combined with an engaging personality that made him an ideal mentor for younger colleagues and sounding-board for contemporaries.