The House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue has made a final call for taxpayers to comment on the performance of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in the year 2016-17.
Submissions will be included in the Committee’s annual report to the Parliament.
Chair of the Committee, Jason Falinski MP (pictured) said the annual review tested ATO reportage against evidence from taxpayers, tax experts, professionals and agency scrutineers, such as the Australian National Audit Office.
“During the reporting period the ATO faced a series of setbacks,” Mr Falinski said.
“Major system outages occurred in late 2016, and again in February 2017. These were followed in May by Operation Elbrus revelations of alleged tax fraud.”
He said that in April, news reports on the ATO’s treatment of tax debt among several small and medium businesses, and its media response, brought out further criticism, including from the Inspector-General of Taxation.
“The ATO has been asked some tough questions during this review”, Mr Falinski said.
“With the inquiry drawing to a close, the committee now makes a final call to taxpayers and other stakeholders for feedback on ATO performance.”
He said topics of particular interest to the committee included the ATO’s fairness in management of tax debts and the dispute process, and the impact of IT transformation and platform issues — including blackouts for short durations.
Submissions should be lodged by 9 October and can be made on the Committee’s website at this PS News link.
