ATO Commissioner Declares War On Tax Scheme Promoters

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

04 January 2002

Speaking in an interview with the Australian Financial Review earlier this week, the Australian Tax Commissioner, Michael Carmody, announced that the targeting of promoters of bogus tax minimization schemes would be a high priority for the tax office this year.

He also revealed his support for the somewhat controversial tax reforms enacted by the Howard government last year, denying that confusion over issues such as the Business Activity Statement, GST, and illegal tax reduction schemes, reflected badly on the administration.

'I want to make the new year much tougher for [bogus tax scheme] promoters,' he told the AFR. 'I am intent on ramping up our activities in this area. I have spoken to the Commissioner from the Australian Federal Police and he is on-side, working very closely with us.' According to Mr Carmody, new initiatives in the pipeline include a 'Taxpayer Alert' system which will warn of schemes currently under investigation, and joint programs with the police and other regulatory authorities.

The Tax Commissioner also signalled that international taxation: 'will be one of the major tax issues of the coming year', with the implementation of legislation which will allow a group of countries to submit a single tax return, and a review of international taxation policy, both very much to the fore.

'We're as interested as anybody in a healthy business environment in this country,' he told the AFR, adding that: 'We're at a point where clearly everyone acknowledges it's time to take a good look at how the tax system impacts in this new environment and we will play a constructive role in contributing what we can to that.'

Recommended