The Commonwealth Ombudsman Annual Report 2010-11 was tabled in Parliament today [Tue 13.3.2012]. During 2010-11, the Ombudsman received almost 39,000 approaches and complaints, a 4% increase on the previous year. In relation to the Tax Office, the Report noted the Ombudsman received 2,589 approaches and complaints in 2010-11, an increase of 43% from the 1,810 received in 2009-10. The Report noted the deployment of the ATO’s Change Program (Release 3) in 2010 and “early teething problems” which resulted in delays to processing of income tax returns. During 2010-11, complaints concerning lodgment and processing were the most common (39%), followed by taxpayer information (12%), then debt collection (11%), audit (10%), and superannuation (9%).
[LTN 49, 13/3]