Commissioner addresses tax practitioners’ concerns in Parliamentary Committee, including: accuracy of pre-filled data, better insolvency data for earlier collection, use of others’ ABN to avoid paying tax

Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan appeared on Wed 24.2.2016, at Parliament House in Canberra, before a hearing of the House Tax and Revenue Committee inquiry into the ATO’s annual report. At the same meeting the Committee heard from the Inspector-General of Taxation.

The Chair of the Committee wanted the Commissioner to address the following concerns raised by tax practitioners:

• the possibility of a business using someone else’s ABN to avoid paying tax;
• the fact that draft public rulings may stay as drafts and not be finalised for too long;
• the need for the ATO to be involved to ensure better insolvency data so action can be taken earlier and more effectively;
• how soon the ATO will make promised improvements to its systems;
• whether pre-filled data is accurate;
• whether ATO actions will interfere with the agent-client relationship;
• whether the new standard business reporting system will handle increased demand in Tax Time 2016.

[LTN 35, 23/2/16]