Tax advisory bodies attending roundtable hearing

THE House Tax and Revenue Committee will hold a roundtable public hearing tomorrow with tax professionals. The hearing precedes the Committee’s public hearing with the Commissioner of Taxation and the Inspector-General of Taxation later this month.

In the lead up to Tax Time 2016, the Australian Taxation Office focused on feeding the results of industry consultation into the progressive project design and implementation of its new lodgement and advisory programs. With the old Electronic Lodgement systems being kept on until full digitalisation in 2017, there is work ahead to inform and support the community to adjust to digital lodgement. 

At this hearing the Committee will meet with three key tax practitioner bodies—CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Tax Institute—to discuss how the ATO’s reinvention of its services is tracking since the former Committee met with these representatives in February of this year.

In addition to the ATO’s progress on new technology projects, the hearing will also investigate how the ATO’s transformation is working to increase willing participation (voluntary compliance) and build confidence in the ATO and the tax and superannuation systems.

The Committee Chair, Mr Kevin Hogan MP, said “The ATO appears to have made progress in establishing a consultative culture with tax professionals, with Tax Agent and BAS portals improved. At the same time, according to the ATO, while overall online lodgement has increased by nine per cent this year, lodgement by small business declined. The Committee is keen to investigate with tax professionals how they can grow their client base among small business and what the ATO can do to assist them.”

Public hearing details: Wednesday 23 November 2016, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

4:10pm:
CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Tax Institute

The hearing will be webcast at aph.gov.au/live

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. Click on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner and use the forms to login to My Parliament or to register for a My Parliament account.

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