In his post-Budget address at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wed 16.5.2012, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey confirmed that, if elected to Government, the Coalition would repeal the Carbon Tax and the Mining Tax. He also said the Coalition would offer personal tax cuts funded by “prudent savings in Government expenditure”.
Mr Hockey said there was a view that the ATO needed to draw on broader sources of expertise and perspectives, particularly in regard to its management, culture, business dealings, and other organisational matters, to improve its administration. He said there are concerns that the ATO has an inwardly focused culture and that it fails at times to appreciate the impact of its decisions on business taxpayers, including small and micro businesses.
As a result, Mr Hockey said the Coalition would expand the number of Second Commissioners by 4. While appointments would be based on merit, he said these 4 additional part-time appointments would be individuals “who have deep experience in the private sector”. These Second Commissioners would be based outside of Canberra. Ideally they will include appointments from regional Australia and small business, he said.
Mr Hockey said he believed there was “significant room for improvement in the way the ATO does its job”, and he foreshadowed that the Coalition would “have more to say in the policy space of tax administration ahead of the next election”.
[LTN 93, 16/5]