ATO targets intermediaries

2008 is emerging as a key year for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), with the Taxation Commissioner, Michael D’Ascenzo, outlining a raft of changes some of which affect financial services intermediaries and those operating self-managed superannuation funds.

The Tax Commissioner outlined the changes and their implications in a speech to a conference in Tasmania in which he said the ATO would be strengthening its relationships with key intermediaries, including tax agents, bookkeepers, payroll providers and software developers.

He said that among the initiatives would be a professional-to-professional service, which, if a current pilot program proved successful, would offer senior practice managers a single entry point to ATO services via an account manager.

On the superannuation front, D’Ascenzo said the ATO was looking to introduce an updated lost member register online facility that would incorporate search and portability functionality to be available in 2009-10.

He said that the ATO was also aiming to reduce the number of debts that were over two years old and give greater priority to outstanding superannuation guarantee charge debts.

“We will do this by expanding our automatic dialler technology, referring some debts to external debt collection agencies and by dedicating more staff to recovering superannuation guarantee charge debts owed to employees,” the Tax Commissioner said.