Australian Taxation Office

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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the principal revenue collection agency for the Australian Government, collecting approximately 92% of revenue at the federal government level.

It is responsible for administering the following:

income tax
pay as you go withholding and instalments (PAYGW and PAYGI)
the Australian Business Number and Australian Business Register (ABR)
goods and services tax
fringe benefits tax
Luxury Car Tax (LCT)
Wine Equalisation Tax (WET)
Higher education funding under the Higher Education Loan Programme (formerly the Higher Education Contributions Scheme)
excise duty
grants and schemes in relation to diesel and alternative fuels
superannuation (including the superannuation guarantee, small superannuation accounts, ‘lost’ members, and self-managed superannuation funds) ^[1]

1 Organisation Structure
2 Operations
3 The Taxpayer's Charter
4 Annual Report
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Organisation Structure

The most senior officer in the ATO is the Commissioner of Taxation, the current Commissioner is Michael D'Ascenzo (appointed January 2006) and the previous Commissioner was Michael Carmody. Below the Commissioner, the ATO is managed through six sub-plans, each directed be a member of the ATO Executive. The sub-plans and their respective directors are:

Compliance - Jennie Granger, Second Commissioner
Easier, Cheaper and More Personalised - Bill Gibson, Second Commissioner (acting)
Information Technology - Bill Gibson, Second Commissioner (acting)
Law - Bruce Quigley, Second Commissioner
Operations - Raelene Vivian, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Commissioner
People and Place - David Diment, First Assistant Commissioner (acting)

These six sub-plans are further divided into Business Service Lines (BSLs). Day-to-day operations are handled by the Operations sub-plan which is divided into Client Contact (which handles inbound client enquiries, the responsibility of Jane King, Deputy Commissioner), Debt (which handles debt-related matters, the responsibility of Frances Robinson, Deputy Commissioner) and Client Account Services (which handles the processing of lodgements such as activity statements and income tax returns, the responsibility of Geoff Robinson, Deputy Commissioner. Approximately 22,000 people are employed by the Australian Taxation Office. ATO officers are employed as members of the Australian Public Service (APS).

[edit] Operations

According to the ATO website, the organisation manages 10 million personal taxpayers, three million businesses and non-profit organisations and regulates approximately 300,000 self-managed superannuation funds.

[edit] The Taxpayer's Charter

The Taxpayer's Charter is a comprehensive document which outlines the rights of taxpayers in their dealings with the ATO. The document also outlines the service taxpayers can expect from the ATO, what the ATO expects from taxpayers and also what a taxpayer can do if they are dissatisfied with a decision made by the ATO, or if they wish to make a complaint. The charter was introduced in 1997 as a means of strengthening the ATO's relationship with the Australian community. The document is freely available on the ATO website.

The Taxpayer's Charter states that a taxpayer can expect the ATO to

treat taxpayers fairly and reasonably
treat taxpayers as being honest in your tax affairs unless a taxpayer acts otherwise
offer taxpayers professional service and assistance to help taxpayers understand and meet their tax obligations
accept taxpayers can be represented by a person of their choice and get advice about their tax affairs
respect taxpayers' privacy
keep the information we hold about taxpayers confidential in accordance with the law
give taxpayers access to information we hold about you in accordance with the law
give taxpayers advice and information they can rely on
explain to taxpayers the decisions the ATO makes about a taxpayers' tax affairs
respect a taxpayers' right to a review
respect a taxpayers' right to make a complaint
administering the tax system in a way that minimises costs of complying
be accountable for they do

In addition to outlining the rights and expectations for a taxpayer, the charter also outlines expectations of the ATO. The ATO expects taxpayers to

be truthful in their dealings with the ATO
keep records in accordance with the law
take reasonable care in preparing tax returns and other documents and in keeping records
lodge tax returns and other required documents or information by the due date
pay taxes and other amounts by the due date
be cooperative in your dealings with the ATO ^[2]