Newsletter
April 2014 Newsletter
ATO compliance approach can be improved
The government has released several reports prepared by the Inspector-General of Taxation, Mr Ali Noroozi, into the ATO’s compliance approach to individual taxpayers.
The Tax Inspector found that data-matching was generally positively received where the ATO uses it to assist individuals. However, he found that stakeholders were concerned that the data used by the ATO could be inaccurate and not sufficiently vetted before comparisons were made with taxpayer-reported information.
In relation to the ATO delaying tax returns to check refund claims, the Tax Inspector recommended that the ATO improve its processes as well as communication with taxpayers. Among other things,
Mr Noroozi thought the ATO could better differentiate potentially fraudulent claims from mere mistakes. The ATO could also improve the time taken to review cases, and provide clearer reasons for any adjustments made.