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.
AUTHOR
Milana Pokrajac
Recommended for you
The Governance Institute has said ASIC’s governance arrangements are no longer “fit for purpose” in a time when financial markets are quickly innovating and cyber crime becomes a threat.
Compliance professionals working in financial services are facing burnout risk as higher workloads, coupled with the ever-changing regulation, place notable strain on staff.
The Senate economics legislation committee has recommended Schedule 1 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislation be passed as it is a “faithful implementation” of the recommendations.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down his third budget, outlining the government’s macroeconomic forecasts and changes to superannuation.
