Venue:

Australian Tax Office
McKay Board Room
Level 10
Amungula Building
26 Narellan Street
Canberra

Date:

8 August 2008

Start:

9.30am

Finish:

3.10pm

Chair:

James O'Halloran

Contact:

Rana Cobbin

Contact phone:

(07) 3119 9354

Secretariats:

Rana Cobbin and
Geoff Besgrove

Roger Booker

CIMA

Frank Brass

H&R Block

Annamaria Carey

Tax Office

Greg Cartwright

Tax practitioner

Keith Clissold

ATMA

Michael Dirkis

TIA

Tony Greco

TA

Emma Haines

Tax Office

Erin Holland

Tax Office

Norman Kang

ICAA

Mark Konza

Tax Office

Mark Leveson

Tax practitioner

Mark Morris

CPAA

James O'Halloran

Tax Office

Natalie Pluta

Tax practitioner

Frances Robinson

Tax Office

Geoff Robinson

Tax Office

Vicki Stylianou

NIA

Gail Woods

Tax practitioner

Robert Berger

Tax practitioner

Tony Jones

NTAA

Wendy MacDonald

Tax practitioner

John Mikes

ITP

Neil Olesen

Tax Office

Shane Reardon

Tax Office

Susan Rix

Tax practitioner

Helen Austin

Treasury

Michael D'Ascenzo

Tax Office

Greg Divall

Treasury

Phil Frain

Tax Office

Bob Webb

Tax Office

Greg L Williams

Tax Office

Association of Taxation and Management Accountants

ATMA

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

CIMA

CPA Australia

CPAA

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia

ICAA

National Institute of Accountants

NIA

National Tax and Accountants' Association

NTAA

Taxation Institute of Australia

TIA

Taxpayers Australia

TA

Action item ATPF0808/01

Why was the majority of running balance accounts (RBA) issued by the Tax Office in early August 2008 a $0 balance?

Action item ATPF0808/02

Why has it been difficult to get through to phone number 13 28 66 in early July 2008?

Action item ATPF0808/03

Why did a member receive a notice of assessment from the Tax Office in a handwritten envelope?

Action item ATPF0808/04

An ATPF member highlighted that there is an inconsistency in forms available through software packages. Currently several software packages produce a standalone electronic imputation credit form. The member asked that Tax Office advise the software developers that this form is not allowed.

Action item ATPF0808/05

The Tax Office will review the response provided to action item ATPF0805/05 and advise if the response provided which referred to '… generate a notice of assessment.' should be '… generate a notice of refund.' The member also questioned if the paragraph commencing 'Details from that notice of assessment …' was required in the response.

Action item ATPF0808/06

The NIA representative to provide a copy of the NIA member's survey results to the Tax Office.

Action item ATPF0808/07

The Tax Office to provide tax practitioners with a copy of the ATO Receivables Policy, which sets out the Tax Office payment arrangement policy, and the associated Law Administration Practice Statement.

Action item ATPF0808/08

Members asked if information could be included in debt collection letters highlighting that the client may receive further correspondence from the Tax Office regarding the outstanding debt however the client or authorised contact should contact the debt collection agency in relation to the client's outstanding debt.

Action item ATPF0808/09

Tax Office to advise if the Commissioner of Taxation's powers to remit penalties can be delegated to external collection agencies.

Action item ATPF0808/10

Tax Office to review the procedure for removing tax practitioners contact details for current or previous clients' outstanding debts to ensure tax practitioners' details are removed when requested.

Action item ATPF0808/11

Tax Office to provide members with the presentation delivered during the Debt collection strategies and initiatives agenda item and a summary of the key messages regarding the debt collection process. The professional associations can distribute this information to their members.

Tax Office will publish the debt collection frequently asked questions information on www.ato.gov.au

Action item ATPF0808/12

The Tax Office offered members the option to visit the premises of an external collection agency engaged by the Tax Office.

Action item ATPF0808/13

The Tax Office to provide details on the change program 3.1 contingency plan for other superannuation products at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item ATPF0808/14

Treasury to advise what the 'take up rate' was in the Netherlands for Standard Business Reporting (SBR).

Action item ATPF0808/15

Treasury is seeking members views on which five forms (and in order of priority) SBR should focus on. Members invited to provide any comments to SBR@treasury.gov.au

Action item ATPF0808/16

Tax Office to investigate the possibility of issuing mailouts to tax practitioners by email, similar to Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Action item ATPF0808/17

Members are invited to send any comments on the education tax refund to palu@ato.gov.au

Action item ATPF0808/18

Tax Office to organise a phone hook-up between key stakeholders (ATPF, bookkeeping and legal representatives) impacted by the recent change to the proof of identify (POI) procedures.

Action item ATPF0808/19

Tax Office to provide information on the new service delivery model for tax practitioners at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item ATPF0808/20

Members are invited to send feedback on the Compliance program 2008-09 webcast.

Register of aged open action items from previous meetings

Attachment 1

Agency forms in scope for standard business reporting

Attachment 2

Tax Practitioner Integrity Service

Attachment 3

Update on Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recommendations

Attachment 4

Update on the top 10 digital certificate issues

Action item

ATPF0808/01
Why was the majority of RBA issued by the Tax Office in early August 2008 a $0 balance?

Tax Office response

Tax Office is required to issue paper copies of annual summary RBA for all client accounts, including nil balances.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0808/02 
Why has it been difficult to get through to phone number 13 28 66 in early July 2008?

Tax Office response:

In early July 2008, it may have been difficult for clients to get through to 13 28 66 due to issues with pre-filling which resulted in a higher than anticipated call volume coming into 13 28 66 . The issue with pre-filling was resolved by mid July 2008, resulting in service to 13 28 66 returning to normal.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0808/03
Why did a member receive a client's notice of assessment from the Tax Office in a handwritten envelope?

Tax Office is currently investigating why a notice of assessment was in a hand written envelope. This matter to be resolved with the member concerned'.

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0805/01
Tax Office to provide members with information on the fringe benefits tax (FBT) statement of account (SoA) and a summary of findings from the Community Transition Strategy benchmark research.

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

FBT statement of account (SoA) details

The Tax Office anticipates that all FBT SoAs will be four pages. Information contained on these pages are:

¦ Page 1 statement of account front page

¦ Page 2 important information about the statement

¦ Page 3 transaction list

¦ Page 4 net year to date amounts.

An example of a Statement of account for FBT was recently published and is available on www.ato.gov.au

Summary of findings from the Community Transition Strategy benchmark research: Awareness of Change Program/Release 3.1

Individuals, business, government and not for profits

¦ There appears to be a low level of awareness of the change program among all market segments except tax agents and business activity statement (BAS) service providers.

¦ The lower level of awareness for these market segments was consistent for both generic change program messages and more specific release 3.1 messages.

¦ All market segments except tax agents and BAS Service Providers have made minimal preparations for release 3.1.

Tax agents and BAS Service Providers

¦ Awareness of more generic change program messages and specific release 3.1 messages was higher among these market segments.

¦ Despite higher comparative awareness of release 3.1 messages the majority of tax agents and BAS Service Providers were unaware and not currently prepared for system shutdowns and interruptions.

Research implications for communications (focus on tax agents)

¦ The research brings forward a number of issues which are potentially impacting on the current low levels of awareness and lack of preparation for release 3.1 among tax agents.

¦ Firstly it appears the high levels of trust granted by tax agents to the Tax Office are potentially impacting on their receptiveness to release 3.1 messages. The research shows that Tax agents expect minimal disruptions from release 3.1 despite not being fully aware of how interruptions will affect them specifically.

¦ Although not specifically measured through this research, this does demonstrate that the tone of communications could be more 'urgent' and 'insistent' particularly as it moves closer to actual system shut downs.

¦ The research has also shown that tax agents prefer urgent and important messages regarding system shutdowns to come through more direct channels such as Tax Office broadcasts.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/02
Tax Office to extend an invitation to Centrelink to attend every second ATPF meeting to discuss any Tax Office/Centrelink issues impacting on tax practitioners.

Response

The Tax Office has invited Centrelink to attend an ATPF meeting to discuss any Tax Office/Centrelink issues impacting on tax practitioners. Centrelink will attend the 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

Ongoing
Centrelink to attend 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0805/03
At 8 August 2008 ATPF meeting, Treasury will be invited to provide information on how SBR will be impacted by the taxation review announced recently by the Federal Government

Response

SBR will provide an update on SBR and how it will be impacted by the taxation review announced recently by the Federal Government.

Status

Completed
This item was covered during agenda item 7.

Action item

ATPF0805/04
ATPF members to advise if there is a benefit in identifying if any tax practitioners in the Tax Practitioner Information Service (TPIS) statistics belong to a professional association.

If members agree that there is a benefit in identifying if any tax practitioners in the TPIS statistics belongs to a professional association, professional association members are asked to advise ways the Tax Office could readily identify association members (for example, by providing the Tax Office with real time access to their membership lists).

ATPF members were invited to provide comments to palu@ato.gov.au

Response

Following the meeting, members provided varied views whether they agreed there was a benefit in identifying if any tax practitioners in the TPIS statistics belonged to a professional association. The Tax Office took the members responses into consideration.

Tax officers would not normally seek information on professional association membership unless it was directly pertinent to the nature of a complaint etc, (for example, if the matter related to the eligibility of a BAS service provider) (section 251L(6)). However in most circumstances this information would not be necessary to assist in the resolution of the matter.

Further, while tax officers in pertinent circumstances may request details of memberships as part of an interview, the information may need to be verified before being treated as reliable intelligence.

It may be a more cost effective option for the professional groups to liaise directly with the Tax Agents' Boards (TABs) for the provision of this information with respect to those matters where the TABs have made a decision to suspend or deregister.

For the above reasons, it is not intended that TPIS processes be changed to inquire of persons their membership of professional associations, and therefore this data would not be available for inclusion in future TPIS reports.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0805/05
The Tax Office to review the member's recommendation on how to lodge an imputation credit claim form electronically.

Response

Information provided to members on 9 July 2008.

The Tax Office is not able to agree to allow tax agents to use existing electronic lodgment service (ELS) software to lodge a standalone claim for refund of franking credits.

Use of the individual tax return software to lodge a claim will constitute a lodgment of a tax return, which will in turn generate a notice of assessment. Details from that notice of assessment are provided to other government agencies, notably the Family Assistance Office and Child Support Agency, with resultant ramifications for a taxpayer's entitlements and obligations with those agencies.

Standalone claims for refund of franking credits are able to be lodged by telephone, or on paper.

The Tax Office is again reviewing the feasibility of building a standalone claim facility through ELS. It is likely that this would not be available until after the deployment of the income tax components of release 3.1 (Integrated Core Processing (ICP) system). If the case for the standalone claim facility proceeds, tax agents will be consulted through relevant forums.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0808/04
An ATPF member highlighted that there is inconsistency in forms available in software packages. Currently several software packages produce a standalone electronic imputation credit form.

The member asked the Tax Office to advise the software developers that this form is not allowed. The member's comments have been referred to the Tax Office Software Liaison Unit for consideration and actioning as appropriate.

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/05
The Tax Office will review the response provided in the agenda papers to action item ATPF0805/05 and advise if the response provided which referred to '… generate a notice of assessment' should be '… generate a notice of refund.' The member also questioned if the paragraph commencing 'Details from that notice of assessment …' was required in the response.

Status

Completed
The original response provided is accurate. The response was provided on the assumption that the full software was being used which would generate a notice of assessment.

Action item

ATPF0805/06
Tax Office to confirm if interest on overpayment will or will not be paid to taxpayers entitled to refunds as a result of the KAP Motors v. Commissioner of Taxation decision.

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

Interest on overpayment

An entitlement to interest under Part III of theTaxation Interest onOverpayments and Early Payments Act 1983 (TIOEPA) will occur where the relevant entity has successfully objected against a goods and services tax (GST) assessment made under section 105-5 (previously section 22) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953) and, as a result of the decision, the whole or part of the GST assessed is overpaid and is refunded to the entity or applied against any liability of the entity.

To be entitled to interest under Part III section 9 of the TIOEPA there are four elements that must be satisfied:

¦ an amount of relevant tax is paid

¦ whole or part of the amount of relevant tax is overpaid

¦ the amount of relevant tax must be overpaid as a result of a decision to which the TIOEPA applies, and

¦ the amount overpaid must be refunded to the entity or applied against any other liabilities of the entity.

'Relevant tax' is defined in section 3C of the TIOEPA. It includes item 155, that is 'GST assessed under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.

However in terms of GST on the motor vehicle holdback payments, which had been previously included on an activity statement, the reference to 'relevant tax' and item 155 does not apply. This is because the amount reported on a lodged activity statement does not result in a GST assessment. Unless and until the Commissioner makes an assessment of the entity's GST liability under section 105-5 or section 105-25 of Schedule 1 to the TAA, GST is not a 'relevant tax'.

A GST assessment under section 105-5 or section 105-25 of Schedule 1 to the TAA is required in order for the entity to lodge an objection under Part IVC of the TAA.

Accordingly, an amount of relevant tax will be paid where the Commissioner makes an assessment of the entity's GST liability, and the liability under the assessment is paid by the entity.

In the motor vehicle holdback cases, generally no assessments have been made; therefore, Part III of the TIOEPA has no application.

Delayed refund interest

A delayed refund interest (DRI) entitlement under Part IIIAA of the TIOEPA, will exist where a RBA surplus arises (due to the lodgment of a correct activity statement, remission of a penalty or voluntary payment) and the Commissioner is required to refund the surplus to the entity, and the refund does not take place until after the RBA interest day.

The only provision of the TIOEPA that may provide an entitlement to DRI in respect of the motor vehicle holdback cases is section 12AA. Section 12AB concerning penalty remission request and section 12AC voluntary payment request are not applicable.

Section 12AA states if:

(a)

the Commissioner has allocated a BAS amount to an RBA of an entity; and

(b)

section 12AB does not apply (that section is about remission of penalties); and

(c)

under subsection 8AAZLF(1) of the TAA 1953, the Commissioner is required to refund to the entity the whole or part of an RBA surplus for that RBA; and

(d)

the refund takes place after the RBA inters day;

then interest is payable by the Commissioner to the entity on the amount refunded.

Section 12AF defines RBA interest day:

RBA interest day for an RBA surplus means the 14th day after the latest of the following days:

(a)

either

(i)

if section 12AA applies - the day on which the surplus arises; or

(ii)

if section 12AB or 12AC applies - the day on which the relevant request is made;

(b)

if, by the day applicable under paragraph (a), the person has not given the Commissioner a notification that is required for the refund under section 8AAZLG of the TAA and that is accurate so far as it relates to the refund, the day on which that notification is given to the Commissioner;

(c)

unless the Commissioner has given a direction under subsection 8AAZLH(3) of the TAA, the day on which the person nominates a financial institution account for the purposes of that section.

Section 12AD provides interest under this Part is payable for the period from the end of the RBA interest day.

In relation to the day the RBA surplus arises (paragraph (a) of the definition of RBA interest day), the Commissioner has adopted a concessional approach under the ATO Receivables Policy. Paragraph 84.4.2 says:

'The Commissioner has adopted the approach to treat the day of lodgment of the activity statement as the day on which the RBA surplus arises.'

Although in the present cases for motor vehicle dealers we are dealing with an amendment request, rather than the original lodgment of an activity statement, the principal is that the surplus should arise when the Commissioner is formally notified of the entitlement to the credit or refund.

The effect of sections 12AA, 12AD and 12AF is that interest starts to accrue at the end of 14 days after the latest of the following:

¦ the date of the relevant credit to the RBA, or the information giving rise to that credit is provided to the Tax Office

¦ if there is outstanding information from the taxpayer which bears on the amount of a refund, the time that outstanding information is provided, and

¦ the date bank account details are provided.

Amendment requests received prior to the court decision

Based on the information above, where a motor vehicle dealer has submitted an activity statement refund amendment request prior to the Federal Court decision and the Commissioner has failed to process that amendment request; DRI will be accrue from the latter of:

¦ 14 days of having received that request, or

¦ within 14 days of receipt of the all the relevant information pertaining to that amendment request.

Amendment requests received after the Court decision - notification received

Where the Commissioner has received a notification for an entitlement to a refund and this is followed by a subsequent amendment request which is processed within the latter of 14 days of the amendment request or 14 days of receipt of all the relevant information pertaining to the amendment request, no DRI is payable. If an amendment request is not processed within the latter of 14 days if the amendment request or within 14 days of the receipt of all the relevant information pertaining to the amendment request, DRI will be payable.

In other cases DRI will accrue from the end of the 14th day after the latter of the amendment request or on receipt of all the relevant information pertaining to the amendment request to the day on which the refund takes place.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/07
The Tax Office to confirm if the 'Your PAYG withholding obligations' letter, referred to by the member, is an audit or risk review.

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

The Tax Office has advised the member that the 'Your PAYG withholding obligations' letter is not considered to be an audit or a review letter.

This letter provides taxpayers with the opportunity, if required, to make a voluntary disclosure. If a voluntary disclosure is made as a result of receiving this letter, any penalty that would otherwise apply may be reduced.

Depending on operational priorities, the Tax Office may decide to further investigate any matters referred to in the letter by way of a review or audit. If the Tax Office engages in further investigations by way of a review or audit, the taxpayer or tax practitioner will be further advised.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/08
ATPF members to forward any feedback or questions regarding the changes to the three draft miscellaneous taxation rulings on shortfall penalties to palu@ato.gov.au by 27 June 2008.

The due date for providing comments has passed, No feedback or questions were received from members. The action item has been closed.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0805/09
Tax Office to provide clarification on what was 'the exploring the feasibility of developing a downloadable declaration for clients to authorise agents to lodge their activity statements' referring to in the Accounting Working Group (AWG) report.

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

The action item in the AWG report was referring to tax practitioners concerns that the portal does not have a downloadable declaration form for their clients to authorise lodgment of activity statements or a declaration for clients to sign.

During the discussion at the August 2007 AWG meeting, the external members highlighted a need for there to be a downloadable declaration form for their clients to authorise lodgment of activity statements on the portal. While there is a declaration on ELS there is no similar declaration for tax agents to use if they are working on the portal.

Currently on the Tax Agent Portal (the portal) when an agent completes or revises an activity statement the following message appears:

Tax Agent's Declaration

I declare that:

¦ I have prepared this activity statement in accordance with the information supplied by the entity

¦ I have received a declaration made by the entity that the information provided to me for the preparation of this activity statement is true and correct, and

¦ I am authorised by the entity to give the information in this activity statement to the Commissioner.

Tax Practitioners had expressed concerns that the portal does not have an entity declaration which can be printed for clients to sign.

At the April 2008 AWG meeting, a copy of the 'Declaration for an activity statement' that is on ELS was distributed to the AWG members who agreed that the format was suitable for their needs and they endorsed moving ahead to have the Electronic lodgment declarations form published on www.ato.gov.au

The Tax Office has formally approved the need for this declaration and is processing the publication of the form to www.ato.gov.au At the April 2008 AWG meeting, it was decided that this action item could now be closed.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/10
The Tax Office will relay the information provided by the ATPF members, that large funds do not accept the compliance status of a self managed super fund (SMSF) on Super Fund Lookup, to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Response

The Tax Office will be formally advising APRA that ATPF members have found reluctances by large funds to accept the information on Super Fund Lookup regarding the complying status of SMSFs and the subsequent unwillingness to transfer money to them without the provision of a certified Notice of Compliance. The matter will also be included for discussion at the next APRA/Tax Office operational liaison meeting in late August 2008.

Status

Ongoing
Update to be provided at or before the 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0805/11
Tax Office to provide members with a link to the separate net income (SNI) information on www.ato.gov.au which will include information on how non assessable non exempt payments would be treated for the purposes of determining SNI.

Action item

ATPF0805/12
Tax Office to advise members if, under the new superannuation arrangements, there is an equivalent reduction to SNI similar to the previous reduction for 'the deductible amount of the undeducted purchase price of their pension or annuity'.

Response

Information provided to members on 24 June 2008

The Tax Office accepts that taxpayers may deduct the tax free component of super income streams from their gross income in determining their separate net income.

In paragraph 9 of Income Tax Ruling IT 2391 the concept of separate net income is described as:

broadly, the amount remaining after deducting from the gross income expenses which are regarded, according to ordinary accountancy and commercial principles, as a direct charge against the income.

Prior to 1 July 2007, SNI was reduced by the deductible amount of undeducted purchase price (UPP) (the 'deductible amount'). In many cases the UPP represented the undeducted contributions - the contributions made by the member for whom no deductions or tax offsets were allowed, for the purposes of receiving a pension.

With the introduction of Simpler Super as at 1 July 2007, the concept of the deductible amount has disappeared for superannuation pensions and annuities.

Simpler Super also introduced the concept of the tax-free component. This comprises amounts derived from the previous:

¦ concessional component

¦ post June 1994 invalidity component

¦ CGT exempt component

¦ pre-July 1983 component, and

¦ un-deducted contributions component,

with the un-deducted contributions component amount typically being the most significant component in many cases.

For this reason, where a taxpayer does not have a record of their former deductible amount of UPP, they can deduct the tax-free component of their superannuation income stream from their gross income in determining separate net income.

In most cases, taxpayers who use the tax-free component will have their SNI reduced by more than it would have been if they had used their former deductible UPP amount. For example, SNI will be reduced more where the tax free component includes post June 1994 invalidity or pre-July 1983 components. However, in other cases, they will have a lesser reduction. The attachment sets out a number of scenarios.

Note that the source of the income stream, that is taxed or untaxed, has no impact on the SNI calculation.

We will now move to communicate this position as soon as possible by: updating our web based fact sheet entitled Dependants and separate net income; updating call centre scripting; sending a broadcast to tax agents; updating e-tax; and examining our options to let paper preparers know.

The Government announced in its May 2008 Budget that it has decided to tighten the eligibility for dependency tax offsets, and that from 1 July 2009, it will align the definition of income for these offsets with that applying to family assistance payments. Subject to this decision proceeding as announced, the arrangements set out above will necessarily be temporary. However, our understanding is that at this stage the definition of income for family assistance payments broadly has a basis in taxable income, and therefore could be expected similarly to exclude the tax free component.

Scenario 1

Taxpayer aged > 60 years and receives a gross annual superannuation pension/income stream of $10,000 - interest contains undeducted contributions and pre July 1983 service - life pension.

Value of super interest at commencement of income stream is $220,000 made up of:

¦ Tax free component $119,073

54.12%

¦ Taxable component $100,927

45.88%

The tax free component consists wholly of the crystallised segment made up of:

¦ Crystallised pre 1 July 1983 amount

$19,073

¦ Crystallised un-deducted contributions

$100,000

The annual deductible amount of UPP is $1,672 (section 27H(2) Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 [ITAA 1936]).

To calculate SNI under the pre simplification rules deduct the annual deductible amount of UPP from the gross pension:

SNI = $10,000 less $1,672 = $8,328

To calculate SNI under the new simplification rules deduct the tax free component from the annual superannuation income stream. The tax free component represents 54.12% of the benefit.

SNI = $10,000 less $5,412 = $4,488

The difference between the two calculations is the proportion of benefit representing the pre July 1983 component.

Scenario 2

Taxpayer aged < 60 years and receives a gross annual superannuation pension/income stream of $10,000 - interest contains undeducted contributions, but no pre July 1983 service - life pension.

Value of super interest at commencement of income stream is $220,000 made up of:

¦ Tax free component $50,000

22.73%

¦ Taxable component $170,000

77.27%

The tax free component consists wholly of the crystallised segment made up of $50,000 undeducted contributions.

The annual deductible amount of UPP is $1,672 (section 27H(2) ITAA 1936) based on a life expectancy of 29.91 years ($50,000   29.91).

To calculate SNI under the pre simplification rules deduct the annual deductible amount of UPP from the gross pension:

SNI = $10,000 less $1,672 = $8,328

To calculate SNI under the new simplification rules deduct the tax free component from the annual superannuation income stream. The tax free component represents 22.73% of the benefit.

SNI = $10,000 less $2,273 = $7,727

Scenario 3

Taxpayer aged > 60 years and receives a gross annual superannuation pension/income stream of $23,158 - interest contains un-deducted contributions, but no pre July 1983 service - term of pension = 10 years.

Value of super interest at commencement of income stream - $220,000 made up of:

¦ Tax free component $50,000

22.73%

¦ Taxable component $170,000

77.27%

The tax free component consists wholly of the crystallised segment made up of $50,000 un-deducted contributions:

The annual deductible amount of UPP is $5,000 (section 27H(2) ITAA 1936) based on a term of the pension being 10 years ($50,000   10).

To calculate SNI under the pre simplification rules deduct the annual deductible amount of UPP from the gross pension:

SNI = $23,158 less $5,000 = $18,158

To calculate SNI under the new simplification rules deduct the tax free component from the annual superannuation income stream. The tax free component represents 22.73% of the benefit.

SNI = $23,158 less $5,264 = $17,894

Scenario 4

Taxpayer aged > 60 years and receives a gross annual superannuation pension/income stream of $10,000 - interest contains un-deducted contributions, but no pre July 1983 service or CGT exempt component - term of pension = 10 years

Value of super interest at commencement of income stream - $220,000 made up of:

¦ Tax free component $50,000

22.73%

¦ Taxable component $170,000

77.27%

The tax free component consists wholly of the crystallised segment made up of $50,000 undeducted contributions:

The annual deductible amount of UPP is $5,000 (section 27H(2) ITAA 1936) based on a term of the pension being 10 years ($50,000   10).

To calculate SNI under the pre simplification rules deduct the annual deductible amount of UPP from the gross pension:

SNI = $10,000 less $5,000 = $5,000

To calculate SNI under the new simplification rules deduct the tax free component from the annual superannuation income stream. The tax free component represents 22.73% of the benefit.

SNI = $10,000 less $2,273 = $7,727

What does TaxPack 2008 say on this matter?

TaxPack 2008 includes information what can and can not be included in SNI.

TaxPack 2007 makes reference to the fact that SNI could be reduced by the deductible amount of the undeducted purchase price of their pension or annuity as listed at D9 of the return. However, since the introduction of the new superannuation rules, the concept of an 'un-deducted purchase price for an Australian superannuation pension or annuity' no longer exists. The old question D9 has been removed from the return and instead of reporting the gross amount of a superannuation income stream, you only need to report the taxable amount.

For individuals wishing to include the gross superannuation income stream payment in a SNI calculation and then reducing it by the tax free component (which effectively replaces the UPP amount), they will need to obtain this information from their superannuation fund (via either the PAYG payment summary or some other mechanism).

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/13
Tax Office to remove reference to 'or other interaction' on page 42 of the draft minutes from the response to agenda item 9.

Response

Reference to 'or other interaction' on page 42 of the draft minutes has been removed from the response to agenda item 9 of 16 May 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/14
Tax office to confirm the scope of the 'Commissioner guarantee' during a Small Business Advisory Program visit.

Response

Information provided to members on 9 July 2008.

The Commissioner's Guarantee applies to all assistance visits (previously referred to as advisory visits) provided by the Tax Office. As part of assistance visit procedures, the Guarantee is articulated in a letter that is provided to the taxpayer at the commencement of the visit. It states:

I would like to reassure you that our advisory visits are an educational initiative and will not be used for any other purpose. We will not take any action as a result of this visit unless specifically requested by you.

The Commissioner's Guarantee encompasses those assistance visits initiated by both the taxpayer (where the taxpayer contacts the Tax Office and asks for a visit to take place) as well as those requested by Tax Office staff on behalf of, and with the agreement of, the taxpayer. For example, a Tax Office staff member may contact a taxpayer by the telephone to provide general information. As part of this call, the availability of assistance services is mentioned, and the taxpayer requests an assistance visit. The Commissioner's Guarantee would apply in this situation.

The following additional scenarios are provided to highlight the scope of the Commissioner's Guarantee in practice.

Scenario 1

Mr X wishes to register for GST and approaches the Tax Office to seek a business assistance visit to help him register online and understand his record keeping obligations. Does the Commissioner's Guarantee apply?

Answer
The Commissioner's Guarantee will apply to this visit.

Scenario 2

Mr Y is a sole trader. He is newly registered for GST and so far has failed to lodge an activity statement, or make any associated payment. A tax officer contacts him to provide assistance in overcoming any issues that are hindering lodgment or payment, and Mr Y requests an assistance visit. Does the Commissioner's Guarantee apply?

Answer
The Commissioner's Guarantee will apply to this visit. This means that no audit action will be taken as a result of it. The undertaking of an assistant visit (which includes providing assistance over the telephone) will not affect the fact that Mr Y will need to lodge and make payment in relation to any outstanding activity statements and may still be subject to penalty.

Assistance visits are now recorded on the taxpayer file. The detail recorded will be limited to include basic information about the topics covered as part of the visit. This will enable better evaluation of the initiatives being introduced by the Small Business Assistance Program.

It must also be noted that the Commissioner's Guarantee does not diminish the taxpayer's obligations to lodge statements on time, report correctly and make payments in accordance with the laws.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/15
Tax Office to deliver a presentation on Small Business Advisory Program (SBAP) at 8 August 2008 ATPF meeting.

Due to agenda items submitted for the 8 August meeting, this item will be held over until 7 November 2008 meeting.

Status

Ongoing SBAP presentation to be delivered at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0805/16
ATPF members raised the issue that if a taxpayer does not lodge their tax return on time, it is not possible to amend GST or pay as you go (PAYG) instalments.

The matter will be referred to the AWG and report back to the ATPF.

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

The Tax Office contacted the member who initially raised the issue to clarify the specific issue. The member advised the Tax Office that the issue related to the correct use of label 5B on the activity statement. The member provided an example to illustrate his question.

Following on from the discussion with the member, a response was provided at the AWG meeting on 6 June 2008.

The Tax Office advised members that taxpayers or their agents are able to vary the amount of the instalment if they believe that the notified rate is no longer relevant to their circumstances. The law requires taxpayers to notify a variation to their PAYG instalment amount or rate by the date the instalment is due. However, to ensure account integrity and to provide the greatest flexibility to taxpayers whilst balancing system requirements, late variations may be accepted provided:

¦ they are finalised before generation of the next activity statement or instalment notice, and

¦ the relevant income tax return has not been processed.

The varied amount is then carried forward to the remaining activity statements for the remainder of the financial year (unless the taxpayer chooses to vary again at a later date).

Similarly, taxpayers are required to elect their reporting and payment method by the due date. However, where a taxpayer lodges an election after the due date, the Tax Office may accept the election if it is processed before the next activity statement is generated.

The Tax Office has put systems in place to allow for the greatest flexibility for taxpayers and their agents to vary their PAYG instalment amounts whilst still working within the legislative requirements.

Label 5B enables a taxpayer to claim a variation credit for PAYG instalments from previous quarters in the same income year. 5B claims cannot exceed the total of PAYG income tax instalments amounts (label 5A) previously posted in a financial year.

The 5B claim can only be made in the second, third or fourth quarter. A taxpayer cannot make a 5B claim in the first quarter in the new financial year as there is nothing to claim against. The taxpayer cannot claim a credit if varying up.

A 5B claim cannot be accepted if the relevant income tax return for that year has been processed regardless of when the claim was received in the Tax Office. The claim will also be rejected if it is processed after generation of the next quarterly activity statement.

In some circumstances, taxpayers may be eligible to exit PAYG instalments before lodging their next income tax return. This will only apply to taxpayers who are no longer in receipt of instalment income and do not expect to receive further instalment income in this financial year.

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0805/17
ATPF members to provide any feedback or comments on the income tax compliance program and the type of assistance the Tax Office could provide to tax practitioners to better inform their clients about all of the income tax compliance programs to the ATPF secretariat at palu@ato.gov.au by 27 June 2008.

The due date for providing comments has passed, no feedback or comments were received from members. The action item has been closed.

Status

Closed

Action item

ATPF0805/18
The Tax Office to provide members with the Fuel Tax rulings that provide clarification to questions on:

¦ Haulage, is it off the road when you go onto dirt track?

¦ When transporting diesel excavators on a truck, what sort of records need to be kept to distinguish the two rates?

Response

Information provided to members on 23 June 2008.

Attached are the Fuel Tax Rulings which provide the answers to the member's questions:

Fuel Tax Ruling FTR 2008/1 Fuel tax: vehicle's travel on a public road that is incidental to the vehicle's main use and the road user charge

Fuel Tax Determination FTD 2006/1: for the purposes of calculating your entitlement to a fuel tax credit what methods can be used to calculate the quantity of taxable fuel

Status

Completed

Action item

ATPF0808/06
The NIA representative to provide a copy of the NIA member's survey results to the Tax Office.

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0808/07
The Tax Office to provide tax practitioners with a copy of the ATO Receivables Policy, which sets out the Tax Office payment arrangement policy, and the associated Law Administration Practice Statement. This should assist practitioners in providing their clients with information aligned to Tax Office payment arrangement policy.

Status

Ongoing
Information will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/08
Members asked if information could be included in debt collection letters highlighting that the client may receive further correspondence from the Tax Office regarding the outstanding debt however the client or authorised contact should contact the debt collection agency in relation to the client's outstanding debt.

Tax Office will consider the members recommendation to review the letters issued by the collection agencies

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/09
Tax Office to advise if the Commissioner of Taxation's powers to remit penalties can be delegated to external collection agencies.

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/10
Tax Office to review the procedure for removing tax practitioners' contact details for current or previous clients' outstanding debts to ensure tax practitioners' details are removed when requested.

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/11
Tax Office to provide members with the presentation and a summary of the key messages regarding the debt collection process. The professional associations will send this information out to their members.

Tax Office will publish the debt collection FAQ information on www.ato.gov.au

Status

Ongoing
Information will be provided prior to 9 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/12
The Tax Office offered members the option to visit the premises of an external collection agency, in Melbourne, engaged by the Tax Office.

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0808/13
The Tax Office to provide details on the Change Program Release 3 contingency plans for superannuation products at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

Ongoing
Information to be provided at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/14
Treasury to advise what the 'take up rate' was in the Netherlands for SBR.

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/15
Treasury is seeking members views on which five forms (and in order of priority) should SBR focus on (refer to attachment 1 ).

Members invited to provide any comments to SBR@treasury.gov.au

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0808/16
Tax Office to investigate the possibility of issuing mailouts to tax practitioners by email, similar to ASIC.

Status

Ongoing
A response will be provided prior to 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

ATPF Working Groups

Chairperson

Accounting Working Group

Steve Ashley

Advice Working Group

Annamaria Carey

Active Compliance Working Group

Peter Coakley

Bookkeeper Advisory Group

Rob Walsh

Change Program Advisory Group

Craig Fox

Families Working Group

Tracey Nicholson

Lodgment Working Group

James O'Halloran

Small Medium Enterprises Working Group

Greg Williams

Tax Practitioner Advisory Group

Annamaria Carey

Regional Tax Practitioner Forum - North Queensland

Kathy Quigley

Regional Tax Practitioner Forum - Melbourne

James O'Halloran

Regional Tax Practitioner Forum - Tasmania

Peter Holt

Action item

ATPF0808/17
Members are invited to send any comments on the education tax refund to palu@ato.gov.au

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0808/18
Tax Office to organise a phone hook-up between key stakeholders (ATPF, bookkeeping and lawyer representatives) impacted by the recent change to the POI procedures.

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0808/19
Tax Office to provide information on the new service delivery model at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

Ongoing
A presentation on the new service model will be delivered at 7 November 2008 ATPF meeting.

Action item

ATPF0808/20
Members are invited to send feedback on the Compliance program 2008-09 webcast to TaxPractitionerPresentations@ato.gov.au or by fax to (03) 9275 2843.

Status

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/03

Issue

Tax Office to provide members with an update on the outsourcing and off-shoring issue, following discussion at the 26 March 2008 NTLG.

Status

August 2008 update
The topic 'Outsourcing - implications for the tax profession' was discussed at the NTLG meeting of 26 March 2008.

NTLG members provided responses to a discussion paper on the topic prior to the meeting. A number of the issues raised were also discussed at a Tax Agents' Board Chairs conference. While aspects of supervision and control were discussed, it was agreed that aspects of the issue were the province of the Tax Agents' Boards. It was agreed that little more could occur with the issue at present.

Following the March meeting of the combined Chairs of the Tax Agents' Board Chairs, a decision was made to form a working group to examine issues associated with supervision and control and the outsourcing of taxation services.

This item was endorsed as finalised at the 17 June 2008 NTLG meeting as no further involvement of the NTLG is envisaged at this point in time.

Recommendation

Closed

Action item

ATPF0802/05

Issue

The Tax Office to send a briefing paper to ATPF, Regional Tax Practitioner Forums and ATPF working group members outlining the Letter Improvement team's focus and scope, to seek engagement with tax practitioners in the letter improvement process.

Status

August 2008 update
An email was sent to ATPF members on 27 May 2008, on behalf of the Correspondence Design Team. The email advised members that the team is taking advantage of the Tax Office system development as an opportunity to fix letters that are known to be confusing or causing problems for taxpayers and tax practitioners.

The team have identified the debt demand, payment arrangement and PAYG instalments letters as having priority for improvement.

To assist in this work the Tax Office has engaged the Friend Group, who specialise in writing clear correspondence for public and private sector organisations. The Friend Group is assisting us to improve both the content and layout of these letters which will be user tested prior to finalisation.

The team invited the ATPF members to participate in the letter review and will contact members when the drafts are ready.

The team is also seeking ATPF member's assistance in identifying any other letters that they consider should be given priority for improvements. The Tax Office would appreciate member's suggestions on address preferencing and options for better delivery of communications (for example any specific letters that could effectively be replaced by a telephone call).

Members are invited to provide their comments by email to Stefan Kovic, Assistant Commissioner, Correspondence Capability at stefan.kovic@ato.gov.au

Recommendation

Closed

Action item

ATPF0802/10 - Item 1

Issue

Could Centrelink advise tax practitioners quickly of any problems they encounter once the Centrelink compliance projects are underway?

Status

August 2008 update
Yes Centrelink will provide any relevant information through PALU. Reviews commenced the week of 16 June 2008 and to date there are no known issues.

Recommendation

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/10 - Item 2

Issue

Can Centrelink provide a special telephone number for enquiries by tax practitioners as it is difficult to get through on the general call centre lines?

Status

August 2008 update
There is no specific number available at this time. Centrelink will explore this option with the Tax Office further in the future.

Recommendation

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/10 - Item 3

Issue

Can Centrelink increase awareness through the Tax Office of educational products available for tax practitioners?

Status

August 2008 update
Centrelink has met with the RTPF members to discuss options for providing relevant material. Based on the feedback given at these meetings, Centrelink will provide electronic information for the Tax Office to distribute to Tax Practitioners through eLink. Centrelink is interested in hearing what topics practitioners would like further information on.

Members can provide feedback to palu@ato.gov.au

Recommendation

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/10 - Item 5

Issue

Could Centrelink increase tax practitioner awareness of the need for client authority before contacting Centrelink on the client's behalf?

Status

August 2008 update
Centrelink is seeking to work more closely with tax practitioners on a range of issues. The use of forums such as the ATPF is an opportunity to do this. Centrelink will also seek to discuss further opportunities of this type with the Tax Office. Centrelink will provide information for distribution via eLink on this topic.

Legislation administered by Centrelink often contains strict confidentiality provisions which limit the disclosure of protected information.

Personal/protected information may only be disclosed to third parties (such as tax practitioners) where certain conditions are met including:

¦ the customer has consented to the disclosure, and

¦ the disclosure of the information is authorised or required under law.

Express authority occurs when the person to whom the information relates has given authority that certain information can be released to a nominated third party. This may be via a formal written arrangement such as a:

¦ Correspondence Nominee

¦ Power of Attorney, or

¦ Person Permitted to Enquire (PPE).

Express authority must be obtained from a customer when they request staff to speak directly with their tax agent. The specific information that the customer has authorised to be released to their tax agent is documented on the customer's record.

Following the 29 February 2008 ATPF meeting, Centrelink presented to Regional Tax Practitioners Working Groups in Townsville, Melbourne and Hobart during April 2008. These sessions have provided a valuable opportunity to update regional practitioners regarding the two new compliance measures being introduced in 2008. A number of questions and issues were raised by practitioners during these sessions.

Centrelink will provide a consolidated response to distribute to the ATPF and working groups.

It was also anticipated in February 2008 that customer contact in regard to the Residency measure for Family Tax Benefit, would commence in March 2008. Centrelink have advised that as at 16 June 2008, contact has not yet commenced. Customer contact has commenced on 16 June 2008 in regards to the Consistent Assessment measure.

Recommendation

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/12

Issue

A representative from the Standard Business Reporting Program to provide an update to ATPF members at the 8 August 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

August 2008 update
This item will be addressed at the 8 August 2008 meeting during agenda 7 - Standard Business Reporting.

Recommendation

Closed
Superseded by ATPF0805/15

Action item

ATPF0802/14

Issue

The Tax Office to provide a more narrative report explaining the outcomes of the Tax Practitioner Information Service (TPIS) for the 16 May 2008 ATPF meeting.

Status

August 2008 update
TPIS report for activity up to 30 June 2008 is enclosed at Attachment 2

Recommendation

Ongoing

Action item

ATPF0802/16

Issue

The Tax Office to provide a response to a question regarding whether someone who salary sacrifices a large proportion of their salary is entitled to claim 100% of work related expenditure incurred on deriving that income, or only an apportionment of the total expenditure.

Status

August 2008 update
The topic of salary sacrifice and work related expense was included on the agenda of the NTLG meeting of 17 June 2008.

Following discussion at the meeting, members were invited to forward any views. It was agreed at the NTLG that the ATPF action item would be closed.

Recommendation

Closed

Action item

ATPF0711/02

Issue

The Tax Office to add a 'tip' message to the appropriate communication products recommending that payment advice slips should be printed out on a quality laser printer.

Status

August 2008 update
The Tax Office will commence removing the statement 'Photocopies and faxed copies of payment slips are not accepted at Australia Post or the Tax Office' from payment slips (electronic and hardcopy).

There will be a period before all Tax Office web based documentation (that is, downloadable payment slips) and existing Tax Office print stock will reflect the change.

The Tax Office has been liaising with Australia Post to have the message of the change to payment slips distribute through its communication network to all retail outlets. Once the Tax Office and Australia Post are satisfied with the message content to retail outlets and the change has occurred to the downloadable payment slip, Australia Post will distribute the information to their outlets.

Information following the meeting:

Following the 16 May 2008 meeting, an ATPF member asked how many payment slips are being downloaded by tax practitioners.

Tax Office response

The Tax Office had estimated that in 2007-2008 116,475 payment slips would have been downloaded by tax practitioners.

From the implementation of the downloadable payment slips (DPS) initiative, commencing from October 2007 until the end of May 2008, a total of 404,141 personalised payment slips have been downloaded through both portals.

This includes:

¦ 317,332 personalised payment slips have been downloaded through the Tax Agent Portal, and

¦ 85,316 personalised payment slips have been downloaded through the Business Portal of which 97.8% have been for Business Activity Statement (BAS) clients.

Recommendation

Closed

Action item

ATPF0711/11

Issue

The Tax Office to investigate if a process can be developed to provide a feedback service that will enable members to easily report errors identified with pre-filling data to the Tax Office.

Status

August 2008 update
The escalations service for pre-filling enquiries from tax agents has now gone live and is in full production.

Portal mail

From July 2008, tax agents can forward pre-filing queries directly to the portal team using the mail function in the portal. To do this:

¦ select Mail on the left navigation menu

¦ select the Income Tax topic , and

¦ select the Pre-filling Report subject.

Initially, the portal team will manage these queries. More complex issues will be forwarded to the Pre-filling Issues Management team. Responses back to agents will be via the portal where possible, to comply with the preferred approach of channel in/channel out. In cases where discussion is needed this will be by telephone.

Telephone

From July 2008, agents can contact us by phoning 13 72 86 Fast Key Code (FKC)  2 1 4 (income tax queries).

Contact centre staff will be supported by scripting and intranet/internet material. As with portal mail, complex issues will be forwarded to the Pre-filling Issues Management team via internal messaging systems. Responses back to agents will be by telephone.

How issues will be resolved

First stage resolution

The Tax Agent Portal team and Client Contact Centres will resolve as many issues as possible. It is expected that a large number of enquiries will be handled by these teams using scripting prepared by the Pre-filling Issues Management team.

As the Pre-filling Issues Management team becomes aware of pre-filling data issues, these will be incorporated into the scripting. Issues will also be advised to agents via eLink with information updated on the Tax Office website.

To access this information, visit Pre-filling initiatives

Recommendation

Completed

Action item

ATPF0705/05

Issue

The Tax Office to provide further responses to outstanding ANAO recommendations where the status has changed, to ATPF members out of session.

Status

August 2008 update
Update provided on ANAO report at Attachment 3.

Recommendation

Ongoing
Update will be provided at the next ATPF meeting to any changes to an ANAO recommendation since the last report.

Action item

ATPF0608/11

Issue

The Tax Office to provide an update document to members on the top 10 digital certificate issues discussed at the 19 May 2006 ATPF meeting.

Status

August 2008 update
Update provided at Attachment 4

Recommendation

Ongoing
Update will be provided at the next ATPF on any changes since the last report.

Action item

ATPF0605/02

Issue

The Tax Office to consider establishing a special purpose meeting of the ATPF to further explore the practical administration challenges facing tax agents and to co-design some treatment strategies.

Status

August 2008 update
The Tax Office is working towards developing a product which will assist Tax Practitioners in their practice management. We are currently investigating the best channels for its distribution. Progress as a result of these investigations will be provided to all relevant stakeholders, including the ATPF. Stakeholder involvement still planned for late 2008.

Recommendation

Ongoing
Estimated to be completed late 2008. Update to be provided next ATPF.

Action item

ATPF0505/05

Issue

The Tax Office to update ATPF members on the Inspector-General of Taxation's (IGoT) review into audit practices and its response.

Status

August 2008 update
Following the update provided at the May 2008 ATPF and the publication of the IGoT report, there are no further updates on this action item.

May 2008 update
On 5 March 2008, the Government released the Inspector-General of Taxation's report 'Follow up review into the Tax Office's implementation of agreed recommendations included in the 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.

The Tax Office agreed to implement 65 of the 73 recommendations made in the first six reports conducted by the Inspector-General. 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 notes that these recommendations have been progressed to some extent.

Recommendation

Closed

Agency

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Form identifier

Form name

Quarterly Business Indicators Survey

Q1M

Quarterly Business Indicators Survey

Q2M

Quarterly Business Indicators Survey

Q3M

Quarterly Business Indicators Survey

Q4M

Survey of New Capital Expenditure

CAP

Economic Activity Survey

1Z18S

Agency

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Form identifier

Form name

Copy of Financial Statements and Reports

388

Statement to Verify Financial Statements of a Foreign Company

405

Annual Return of a Foreign Company

406

Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet

FS70

Audit Report

FS71

Half Yearly Reports

7051

Agency

Australian Taxation Office

Form identifier

Form name

Company return

656

Capital allowances schedule

3424

Capital gains tax (CGT) schedule

3423

Consolidated groups losses schedule

7888

Dividend and interest schedule

8030

Losses schedule

3425

Research and development tax concession schedule

6708

Schedule 25A

1125

Thin capitalisation schedule

6458

Life insurance companies taxation schedule

7334

Personal services income schedule

3421

Rental schedule for partnerships and trusts

2682

Family trust entity election/revocation

2787

Interposed entity election

2788

Tax return for individuals

2541

Business and professional items schedule for individuals 2008

2816

Tax return for individuals supplementary section

2679

Fringe benefits tax (FBT) return

1067

Partnership tax return

659

Trust tax return

660

Strata title body corporate tax return

4125

Individual non-business PAYG payment summary

PAYG payment summary - voluntary agreement

PAYG payment summary - labour hire and other specified payments

PAYG Payment Summary - Personal services attributed income

PAYG Payment Summary - Employment termination payment summary data record

PAYG payment summary - superannuation income stream payment summary data record

PAYG payment summary - superannuation lump sum payment summary data record

PAYG payment summary - departing Australia superannuation payment summary data record

PAYG withholding from interest dividend and royalty payments paid to non residents - annual report

PAYG payment summary - withholding where ABN not quoted

PAYG withholding annual report - payments to foreign residents

Non-individual PAYG payment summary schedule

PAYG withholding payment summary annual report

Annual investment income report (AIIR)

mips

Fund income tax return 2008

Self managed superannuation fund annual return 2008

Lost member record

ECI

Superannuation member contribution statements

ECI/2710

Superannuation guarantee charge statement - quarterly

9599

Superannuation matching (MAF)

ECI

Superannuation payment variation advice (PVA) statement

8451

Super guarantee - late payment offset form

14899

TFN declaration (included in SBR Pilot)

3092

Activity Statements*

*This equates to approximately 22 activity statements in the physical world but is represented as a BAS c (all combinations of obligations) with FERP added.

4195+

Agency

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

Form identifier

Form name

Interest Income and Interest Expense

ARF330.1L

Statement of Financial Position (domestic books)

ARF320.0

Statement of Financial Position (offshore operations)

ARF321.0

Statement of Financial Position (consolidated)

ARF322.0

Statement of Financial Position (licensed ADI)

ARF323.0

Statement of Financial Performance

ARF330.0C

Statement of Financial Performance

ARF330.0L

Interest Income and Interest Expense

ARF330.1C

Statement of Financial Position (Inside Australia) (Licensed)

GRF300.0

Statement of Financial Position (Branch)

GRF300.0B

Statement of Financial Position (Inside Australia) (Branch Inside)

GRF300.0BI

Statement of Financial Position (Licensed)

GRF300.0L

Statement of Financial Performance (Branch)

GRF310.0B

Statement of Financial Performance (Licensed)

GRF310.0L

Statement of Financial Position (RFCs)

RRF320.0

Statement of Financial Performance - 100 series

SRF100.0

Statement of Financial Position - 100 series

SRF110.0

Statement of Financial Performance - 200 series

SRF200.0

Statement of Financial Position - 200 series

SRF210.0

Statement of Financial Performance - 300 series

SRF300.0

Statement of Financial Position - 300 series

SRF310.0

Agency

Australian Capital Territory Revenue Office

Form identifier

Form name

Monthly Payroll Tax Return

Annual Payroll Tax Reconciliation

Agency

New South Wales Office of State Revenue

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Monthly Return

Payroll Tax Annual Reconciliation

Agency

Northern Territory Revenue Office

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Monthly Return (online calculator)

Payroll Tax June and Annual Adjustment Return

Agency

Queensland Office of State Revenue

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Annual Return

Payroll Tax Final Return

Payroll Tax Periodic Return

Agency

Revenue South Australia

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Annual Return

Payroll Tax Monthly Return (online calculator)

Agency

Tasmanian State Revenue Office

Form identifier

Form name

Annual Adjustment Return

Annual Reconciliation

Periodic Payroll Tax Return

Agency

Victorian State Revenue Office

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Annual Reconciliation

Payroll Tax Monthly Return

Agency

Western Australian Office of State Revenue

Form identifier

Form name

Payroll Tax Lodgement (includes periods and reconciliation)

Action item

ATPF0705/05
The Tax Office to provide further responses to outstanding ANAO recommendations where the status has changed, to ATPF members out of session.

a.

RM field officers prepare for all agent visits by accessing statistical and other information from Tax Office systems. The statistical information covers lodgment performance against industry averages, a market segment and product segment view of their client base, use of technology (method and frequency), and a snapshot of when they usually access client contact areas.

Currently the Tax Office is working on refinements to the information that is made available to RM field officers. This will enable us to better engage with agents and get a more holistic view of the agent's practice. It is hoped that this data will be able to be shared more generally with agents in the future, not just as part of an RM visit.

RM field officers also access intelligence on how the agent practice is set up. This helps the field officer prepare relevant points for discussion at the visit. This information includes details of any previous issues or complaints that may have been raised by a tax agent through the RM program (either by phone or as a result of a field visit).

The RM field staff use a case management system which allows them to view other lines' activities with regard to a particular tax agent. In addition to providing useful background, it also allows RM staff to liaise with relevant contact officers to ascertain the extent of current activity with the agent.

We have worked with other business lines to incorporate key business line messages during our RM field visits. Some examples include:

¦ promoting and explaining the MEI produced 'Work related expenses guide for practitioners'

¦ liaising with Serious Non Compliance to develop a package that raised awareness about the responsibilities of tax agents in regard to fraud and identity crime, and the preventative measures which may be implemented, and

¦ distribution of superannuation publications and forms, along with up to date information to pass onto their clients.

(b)

From almost every visit, field officers will record issues and suggestions into the Tax Office internal systems. These intelligence items are collated into monthly reports and sent to our various business line contacts and the corporate Tax Office complaints area.