Second Commissioner Compliance, Bruce Quigley
Key message
The ATO's focus this year is better tailoring our service delivery so we can provide improved support to taxpayers, while minimising costs to them and the community.
For the Compliance sub-plan this means we need to ensure we are making more effective use of the knowledge we have of taxpayers and tax professionals and how the tax and superannuation systems impact upon them. This understanding comes from the enhanced dialogue and early engagement that we have established over recent years, when providing help and support, undertaking or engaging in active compliance activities and through our consultative forums.
We need to demonstrate that we have heard and understood what taxpayers, tax professionals and the community are telling us and put that into effect by developing improved and innovative services. We will continue with proven approaches of co-design and consultation to further build the level of community engagement and participation in the tax and superannuation systems.
We will continue to expand the differentiated approaches we have developed and implemented over recent years to ensure we deal with taxpayers according to their particular circumstances. Our approach is to increase the intensity of our scrutiny and interactions with taxpayers as the risk and consequence of their potential non-compliance increases. A minority of people seek to evade their obligations or otherwise defraud the Commonwealth and we respond vigorously to this threat using the full force of the law.
In the context of continuing constraints on our budget this year, we will need to adapt to and meet emerging priorities, including through the movement of staff where required. We will support our staff through these changes and continue to work with them to develop their broader capability, as their resilience and flexibility is critical to delivering on our commitments.
Our role
We design, implement and maintain strategies that appropriately balance help and support, with targeted compliance approaches that are differentiated to align with the observed level of risk. Our on-the-ground experience in service delivery informs the ATO's advice to government on whether the law is operating as intended and how proposed solutions will affect taxpayers.
Our strategic direction
As an organisation, we aspire to a future where Australians value their tax and superannuation systems as community assets, where willing participation is recognised as good citizenship.
We recognise the link between service, engagement and participation. As a sub-plan, our work program reflects this through a balance between supporting people who are trying to fulfil their obligations and protecting people and the community by deterring, detecting and dealing with those that do not comply. We also engage with and involve the community in our cooperative compliance approach, through our consultative forums and by taking account of the feedback we receive through other mechanisms, including surveys.
We support government priorities and encourage community participation.
In 2012-13 we will continue to design and build administrative solutions to support new policies and law by delivering on superannuation reform, resource rent tax, the private health insurance rebate changes and cleaner energy.
We will continue to work collaboratively with other agencies to support jointly administered programs and whole-of-government initiatives, for example our collaboration with Treasury's taskforce to implement the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
We support the community and make it as easy as possible for them to fulfil their responsibilities, for example through:
- delivery on our tax practitioner plan, including an improved portal service and enhanced access to premium phone services, tax technical experts, online tools and support
- providing more certainty in the interpretation of the law through our contribution to published ATO views and guidance material, and by providing timely, high quality advice in response to specific questions from taxpayers
- encouraging taxpayers to take sensible precautions when investing, by providing early warnings about potential tax risks and publishing product rulings to explain our view of the correct tax treatment
- encouraging participation across all markets, for example through consultative forums, targeted strategies to engage youth, Indigenous Australians, new Australians and small business owners and through direct communication with larger businesses about our view of their level of risk.
We will strengthen our capability to identify and engage on key issues much earlier in our interpretative assistance and active compliance work, including through enhanced and more streamlined tax technical decision making processes, improving access to technical specialists.
In transition to new service standards that are more closely aligned to community expectations we will strive to continue meeting or exceeding existing service standards.
We protect the community by deterring, detecting and dealing with those not willing to comply.
We will further expand the use of data matching with information provided by other agencies and organisations to combat under-reporting of capital gains and of income earned by taxpayers operating in the cash economy. Our improved data analysis will also improve our ability to positively influence timely lodgment.
Our relationship with other tax administrations will be further cemented through contributions to key OECD projects, our active participation and leadership roles in international forums, increased use of tax information exchange agreements, and joint audit work with our counterpart agencies in other jurisdictions.
We will strengthen verification and integrity checks for business registrations to improve confidence in the Australian Business Register, particularly in relation to sham contracting and fictitious businesses.
Our relationship with the Tax Practitioners Board will be further strengthened through the enhanced process for referrals we put in place in 2011-12. We will continue to conduct our own analysis of complaints referred and the outcomes of the board's investigations. We will also identify and act on the compliance risks arising for taxpayers who have dealt with those agents.
We will continue to support federal and state law enforcement agencies' efforts to remove the profit of organised crime.
Employee's entitlements to superannuation guarantee contributions will be protected by our work to verify compliance by employers. We actively target the promoters of schemes to establish self managed superannuation funds and will work with trustees and approved auditors to ensure new arrangements are within the law.
We have developed and will continue to report using effectiveness measures for our activities at the macro, program and risk level. These measures will help us to track our impact on compliance with the core obligations of registration, lodgment, reporting and payment.
Our resources
Budget
|
$1,128.3 million at 28 May 2012
|
Workforce
|
9,686 FTE at 31 May 2012
|
Key capabilities
|
Accounting/Finance
Auditing
Administration
Analytics and intelligence
Communications/Marketing
Customer service
Enforcement/Investigation
Human resources management
Information and organisation professionals
Law
Management
|
Locations
|
40 sites across Australia
|
Our people
We value our people and recognise the contribution that their diverse skills and experience makes to achieving our goals. We invest in and support further learning and development to enhance their capability. This year we will continue to actively manage our workforce to optimise the match of people's skills and experience to our work priorities, and provide them with appropriate development opportunities.
Our people by line
Line
|
Percentage of FTE
|
MEI
|
20.5%
|
ITX
|
18.4%
|
SME
|
14.4%
|
TPALS
|
14.0%
|
LBI
|
12.3%
|
SPR
|
10.1%
|
SNC
|
5.5%
|
ATP
|
2.1%
|
CS&C
|
2.6%
|
Where we are
(Figures at 31 May 2012)
State
|
Number of people
|
NSW
|
28.3%
|
VIC
|
26.6%
|
QLD
|
18.0%
|
SA
|
10.4%
|
WA
|
7.4%
|
ACT
|
6.0%
|
TAS
|
3.1%
|
NT
|
0.2%
|
- We raised over $11 billion in liabilities through our compliance activities and our estimated cash collections were over $6.5 billion.
- We completed 31,955 items of interpretive guidance - this was an increase of 35% over the previous year. This work was the focus of improvement initiatives that resulted in a median-cycle time reduction from 24 days to 16 days.
- We now have 900,000 fewer lost and unclaimed superannuation accounts than at the end of 2010-11 and have been able to reunite $2.2 billion in super savings with the rightful owners over the last two years. SuperSeeker use has increased significantly as individuals recognise and take advantage of its benefits. In 2011-12, 1.4 million searches were undertaken.
- In 2011-12 we provided over 8,200 private rulings to taxpayers, giving them certainty as to how we will apply the GST and income tax laws to the taxpayer's particular circumstances.
- Our information-matching capabilities have grown significantly in recent years, from 409 million transactions reported by third-party data providers in 2007-08 to more than 538 million transactions in 2011-12.
- Our pre-filling service simplifies the process of completing a tax return and has improved the accuracy of reporting for taxpayers. The additional indirect revenue attributed to more accurate reporting of income is estimated to be $920 million for the period 1 July 2007 to 31 January 2012.
Last Modified: Monday, 2 July 2012