Changes in protection of taxpayer information
Law enforcement agencies and courts will now have more access to taxpayers’ information provided to the Australian Taxation Office, as part of the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2010.
The new law, which passed through both Parliament houses earlier this week, will introduce a limited number of new disclosure provisions for purposes such as law enforcement and whole-of-government operations, according to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten (pictured).
Shorten said the new law would “improve protections for taxpayer privacy” and standardise the existing tax secrecy and disclosure provisions into a single place in the taxation law to remove inconsistencies and complexities.
“Taxpayers provide personal information to the Tax Office expecting it to be kept confidential. This legislation therefore balances this protection of taxpayer information and the value of using this information for other appropriate purposes, such as law enforcement and whole-of-government operations,” Shorten said.
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