Report Notes That ATO Has Improved Tax Administration

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

10 March 2008

The Australian government has released a follow-up review by the Inspector-General of Taxation detailing progress made by the Australian Tax Office on improving tax administration.

The report, released on March 5th by Assistant Treasurer Mark Bowen, reviews the ATO's implementation of agreed recommendations included in six reports prepared by the Inspector-General of Taxation between August 2003 and June 2006.

The report is the first of two reviews planned by the Inspector-General, to examine the Tax Office's implementation of the agreed recommendations from all eleven of the Inspector-General's reports completed to date.

According to the report, the Tax Office has agreed to implement 65 of the 73 recommendations made in the first six reports. The Inspector-General's report indicates that the Tax Office has implemented or made significant progress with 62 of the 65 agreed recommendations.

While three recommendations have not been implemented, the Inspector-General noted that these recommendations have been progressed to some extent.

A statement from Bowen's office noted that: "The extent to which the Tax Office has implemented these recommendations, while continuing with its own significant agenda of improvements to tax administration, is a reflection on the Tax Office's openness to scrutiny and its willingness to work cooperatively with external scrutineers to achieve ongoing improvements to the taxation administration system."

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