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In preparing my first annual report as Commissioner, I am impressed with what we have achieved as an organisation this year and look to the future with optimism. However, it won't all be smooth sailing. The canvas of our role is large and complex, and the pathways to our aspirations are not without risk. If we or our systems stumble, I apologise, with a commitment to listen and learn so that we can continue to add value to our nation in the years ahead.
In reporting these achievements, I must acknowledge the strong leadership provided by my predecessor, Michael Carmody, over the past 13 years. In a career spanning 36 years, he was responsible for several landmarks in the history of Australia's tax system. The successful introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) and the new tax system more broadly - one of the largest tranches of tax reform in Australia's history - is an obvious example.
His work also included less well-known, but equally significant, contributions. These include drafting the instructions for the original fringe benefits tax legislation during the 1980s, and taking the largely paper-based Tax Office of the 1980s into the modern computer era.
Under his leadership we developed online services such as our Business and Tax Agent portals, and the immensely successful e-tax. We are now in the middle of a major program of change that was also initiated by Michael.
Michael focused the organisation on the importance of building and maintaining relationships with the community. The taxpayers' charter and our compliance model became a reality under his stewardship. And he recently commissioned a review into our relationships with large corporations, which has led to improvements in the way we work with large business.
On behalf of everyone in the organisation, I thank him for his contribution to good tax administration, and wish him well in his new role as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service.
We are fortunate to have a tax administration with strong foundations - high levels of voluntary compliance, fairness in accordance with the law, openness and accountability. I intend to build on these foundations in the years to come.
None of what we achieve as leaders could be done without the work of our people, and I thank them for their commitment and professionalism.
Of course, the success of the tax system is also a credit to the Australian community. The vast majority of Australians and their agents are honest in their dealings with the tax system, and for this we are indeed a lucky country.
Michael D'Ascenzo
Commissioner of Taxation
Sections within 01 Commissioner's review
Last Modified: Wednesday, 18 October 2006