House of Representatives Committees


| Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit

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Report 410 - Tax Administration

26 June 2008

© Commonwealth of Australia 2008
ISBN 978-0-642-79069-9 (printed version)
ISBN 978-0-642-79070-5 (HTML version)

View the report as a single document - (PDF 1470KB)


View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Preliminary Pages (PDF 170KB)

Foreword
Membership of the Committee 41st Parliament
Membership of the Sectional Committee 41st Parliament
Membership of the Committee 42nd Parliament
Membership of the Sectional Committee 42nd Parliament
Committee Secretariat
42nd Parliament
Terms of reference
List of abbreviations
List of recommendations
Executive summary
Biannual meetings
Complex legislation
Rulings
Compliance
Penalties and interest
Pay as you go
Conclusion

 
Chapter 1 Introduction (PDF 271KB)

Self assessment
The Australian National Audit Office’s 1984 efficiency audit
The committee’s 1993 review of self assessment
Should self assessment continue?
Aggressive tax planning in the 1990s
Why did investors feel unfairly treated?
Current status of the investments
Recent reforms to tax administration
Report on aspects of income tax self assessment
Conclusion
Performance of the ATO
Responses to reviews
Improving accountability and communication
Overview of the inquiry
Bureaucratic anticipation
Structure of the report
Part B – fringe benefits tax and family tax benefits
Conclusion

 
Chapter 2 Biannual meetings (PDF 175KB)

Introduction
Risks for the Tax Office
The superannuation guarantee
The cash economy
Release 3 of the Change Program
E-commerce
Specific issues discussed during the hearings
Allegations of BAS and identity fraud
Private equity buyouts
Communication with tax agents and their clients
Phoenixing
Liechtenstein bank records
Security of taxpayer information
The Inspector-General’s report on private rulings
Conclusion

 
Chapter 3 Complex legislation (PDF 297KB)

Measuring complexity
Amount of legislation
Conclusion
Causes of complexity
The use of exemptions
Frequency of changes
Perspective of tax agents
Consequences of complexity
Integrity of self assessment
Integrity of the legal system
Tax agents
Addressing complexity
Drafting styles
Consultation in legislation
The review, Australia’s Future Tax System
Reflecting the economics of a transaction in tax legislation
The requirement to lodge a tax return
Harmonising with New Zealand’s simpler business tax system
Conclusion

 
Chapter 4 Rulings (PDF 185KB)

The history of rulings
Binding by law
An Assessment of Tax
Product rulings
Review of business taxation
ANAO’s performance audit
Class rulings
A ‘reasonably arguable’ position
Review of self assessment
Inspector-General of Taxation’s review
Committee comment
The quality of rulings
Private rulings
Conclusion
Timeliness of private rulings
Performance reporting of timeliness
Committee comment
The RoSA reforms of performance reporting of timeliness
Conclusion

 
Chapter 5 Compliance (PDF 268KB)

Promoting compliance
The role of tax agents
Litigation
Essenbourne – analysis
Essenbourne – conclusion
Changes in ATO interpretations of the law
Managing non-compliance
Audit strategies
Amended assessments
Commencing audits
Conditional assessments
A pro-revenue bias?
Conclusion

 
Chapter 6 Penalties and interest (PDF 228KB)

Penalties
Are penalty amounts appropriate?
Consistency across the ATO
Interest
Are the interest rates appropriate?
Remissions
How the ATO remits interest charges
Groups of taxpayers in dispute with the ATO
Introduction
Code of settlement practice
Discussion
Transparency
Conclusion

 
Chapter 7 Pay as you go and common standards of practice (PDF 148KB)

Pay as you go – introduction
Legal framework
Pay as you go instalments
Over collection of revenue
Is over collection appropriate?
Interest on over collections
Common standards of practice
Rationalisation of ATO operations
Conclusion

 
Appendix A – Submissions (PDF 46KB)
 
Appendix B – Exhibits (PDF 64KB)
 
Appendix C – List of public hearings (PDF 63KB)
 
Appendix D – Submissions for the biannual hearings (PDF 29KB)
 
Appendix E – Exhibits for the biannual hearings (PDF 62KB)
 
Appendix F – List of biannual public hearings  (PDF 51KB)
 

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