The House of Reps Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue on Thur 27.3.2014, tabled its report on the inquiry into the ATO Annual Report 2012-13. The Committee’s report is based on a public hearing held on 28 February 2014 at Parliament House, Canberra. One of the key themes at the hearing was the move to simplifying and streamlining the taxpayer experience, leading to a “light or no-touch” engagement model for most taxpayers.

The Committee said it supported the ATO’s goal of becoming a contemporary service organisation that can quickly and seamlessly deal with most taxpayers. It said it was supportive of the ATO looking overseas to countries like Norway and Denmark for examples of best practice, and was optimistic about what can be achieved in simplifying taxpayer interaction through innovations such as pre-filling. The Committee said it will continue to monitor developments in this area.

The report is available on the Committee website.

[LTN 58, 27/3/14]