Oz Tax Complaints Rose 61% Following GST Introduction

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

05 November 2001

According to the annual report from the Commonwealth Ombudsman Ron McLeod, complaints regarding the Australian tax system increased by 61% to 3,354 following the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.

Although overall, Mr McLeod praised the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for its handling of the increased workload, he acknowledged that teething problems with the new tax had adversely affected the department's handling of normal tax affairs.

'The ATO generally responded very well to the significant amount of administrative effort involved in planning and managing the implementation of new tax arrangements while maintaining a 'business as usual' approach to its normal taxation activities,' said the report. '[However] there were also signs that the effort involved in maintaining the change process had an adverse impact on the ATO's performance in handling its ongoing tax responsibilities resulting at times in lengthy delays in dealing with taxpayers.'

Mr McLeod said that the vast majority of GST-related complaints were the result of initial difficulty in gaining access to information, delays in processing applications, and difficulties obtaining refunds.

He also revealed that although there were few concerns about understandings of the Business Activity Statement, there were many complaints about the length of the processing procedure, and about obtaining refunds.

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