House of Representatives Committees

| Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit

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Report 410 - Tax Administration

26 June 2008

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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)