Dr Sylvia Villios: Tax law expert, advocate for women in leadership and Hellenes

Dr Sylvia Villios, the Associate Professor of law at University of Adelaide, has built a robust presence in the legal industry and academia. She’s on the editorial panel of the Australian Tax Law Bulletin, Lexis Nexis, she has published over 35 peer-reviewed journal articles, and co-authored tax and business law textbooks also sits on state and national Tax Institute committees. She has the sort of drive and tenacity that often intimidates.

The tax-law boffin is also committed to her Hellenic community as a board member of the South Australian chapter of the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI).

Her love of law was sparked in high school, “years 11 and 12”.

“I had a teacher who was an ex-police officer who made the law real and engaging. I was involved in mock trial competitions at school and did well. That’s where I found my voice and I haven’t looked back since. ”

After six years of practice in top commercial law outfits, Villios turned to academia.

“My mum’s a teacher, so it goes back to role models in your life. She always loved her job, and it’s also about giving back.”

Advocating for Gender equality in tax and commercial law

The commerce and taxation expert was blooded in what was a male-dominated area of law practice.

“When I entered practice in 2005, tax, super and estate planning, was male-dominated.

“Under the salaried lawyers’ award, there was no paid maternity leave for women, not even one day.

“I told my boss that I was pregnant and his first response was, ‘When are you going to be able to work again?’.

“Things have changed though,” Dr Villios says.

“The promotion of women in law firms is often published in media, but what about women at the partnership level? That’s the important thing,” Dr Villios says.

“It’s not just about “having women around”.

“Women in leadership and positions of power are the most important thing, not a tick-box of how many women are in the organisation.

Taxation and social justice

Dr Villios’s view of taxation law and tax policy is philosophical.

“Tax is a fundamental construct of democracy, a powerful modality for shifting issues of gender, race and notions of property.

“A working tax system provides for roads and hospitals and is imperative in social justice issues.”

Economics and finance, the Associate Professor says, “Like it or not, it is part of you.”.

She says that “most people aren’t aware of those issues.

“People know that the government funds programs through the tax system, but that’s the limit.”

“Most people don’t understand the important drivers behind an effective tax system and its relation to broad social policy,” Dr Villios says.

The academic says that a PhD student she’s supervising is working on “intergenerational equity in the tax system.”

“He’s looking at the Baby Boomers and how they are treated under the current tax system”.

The research so far concerns Dr Vilios as it suggests that “the younger generation may not have the same opportunity under our tax law”.

Dr Vilios wants Australia to “look to other tax forms, other than income tax, to generate the revenue we require to run a government.”

The politically difficult yet necessary question is, “Are we under-relying on things like the GST?”

“The consensus among most economists and academics in this area is that we rely too heavily on income taxes.

“Do we need a broader consumption tax like GST? Or should we talk about inheritance and wealth taxes.”

Australia is overly reliant on income taxes, which are “higher than most other countries—certainly those in the OECD,” she says.

“Someone inherits property; if they decide to keep that property, be shares, or real estate, they pay no tax on it. That’s how you create intergenerational wealth.

“Something that Greek families here know and use well,” she says.

“Greeks are motivated by family; they want their children to be able to afford a house and will do anything they can to support that.

Dr Vilios doesn’t begrudge them; she wants to look at reforms in the system to create more opportunities for young people.

Empowering the Hellenic community in professional leadership

In the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry SA (HACCI) the board member is keen to “establish a greater and more diverse member base”.

HACCI in her view, can assist young Greek Australians in building networks, knowledge, and skills.

The board she says has “almost equal representation of women” which is “a great starting point.”

“We’ve [HACCI] had a busy first year, among many things”, she says.

HACCI SA is hitting sixes. Earlier this year, they hosted Yanis Varoufakis, while on a book tour for his latest and sobering , ‘Techno Feudalism’. The public intellectual and best-selling author and provocative economist was the former minister of finance under the SYRIZA government during the Greece’s financial .

Dr Villios’s push for tax law reform, her advocacy for gender equality in leadership, academic work, and her community work should inspire a new generation of Greek Australian leaders.