Australian Government Attacked Over Tax Overhaul 'Confusion'

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

08 January 2002

Acting Opposition Treasury Spokesman Mark Latham has criticised the Australian federal government for what the Labor party sees as confusion over the way forward in attacking bogus tax minimisation schemes.

Speaking in The Australian last week Helen Coonan, the newly appointed Assistant Treasurer, suggested that the appointment of an independent Inspector General to scrutinise the tax office might be on the cards in 2002. However, in the Australian Financial Review that same week, Australian Taxation Office Commissioner, Michael Carmody, was quoted as saying that he would be pushing for new powers for the tax office in order to crack down on the illegal schemes.

Although Mr Latham agreed that greater scrutiny of the schemes was a necessary move, he suggested that greater co-ordination and communication was needed within the Federal government.

'I think the new minister needs to sit down with the tax commissioner and sort out a coordinated approach instead of the unsatisfactory situation where the minister's saying one thing on the front page of one national newspaper and the tax commissioner is saying the opposite on the front page of another national newspaper,' he told the Australian Associated Press on Thursday.

He added: 'If someone was running a shonky scheme you would think it was good news that the minister's moving in one direction and the tax commissioner is moving in another.'

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