Government told to take action on declining ATO service standards
CA ANZ has called for a review into ATO service standards and increased funding for regulators.
Ensuring regulators are both appropriately funded and efficient is critical for ensuring that tax agents and their clients can deal efficiently with the ATO, CA ANZ has told the government ahead of the upcoming federal budget.
In its pre-budget submission for 2024–25, CA ANZ urged the government to increase funding for key regulators to address noticeable declines in service standards.
“Ensuring that tax agents and their clients can deal efficiently with the ATO should be a priority,” the submission said.
“Resources should be allocated to the ATO for this specific process in recognition of the substantial, publicly acknowledged declines in ATO service standards which, for example, make it difficult for tax agents to resolve issues in a timely cost-effective manner.”
CA ANZ said that improving funding in this area is also critical given that the ATO is expected to further ramp up debt collection activity targeting small business operators that are struggling with higher costs.
The additional funding for the ATO could be used to implement a booking service to facilitate efficient issue resolution, especially concerning tax debt collection and small business disputes, the submission said.
The accounting body has also called for a review to be undertaken by the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman into the ATO’s service standards and interaction with tax agents. Funding for the IGTO could also be increased, the submission said.
CA ANZ has also urged the government to provide more support for small businesses to structurally adjust.
The submission noted that it takes time for small businesses to make investments and tax setting stability is desirable.
“Keeping the instant asset write off at current levels and extending the time in which energy efficiency and training can be improved through the small business boosts would be welcomed,” the submission said.
CA ANZ said loss carry-back provisions would also help business resilience during future economic downturns and provide support for expanding businesses.
“[It] should be a permanent feature of income tax law,” the submission said.
The Board of Tax (BoT) recommendations regarding the small business CGT rollover provisions should also be adopted, according to CA ANZ.
“The small business Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rollover provisions are complex and costly to apply,” it said.
“Adopting the recommendations of the BoT in relation to the provisions would assist viable businesses to restructure.”
Additional funding to investigate and identify bad actors is also needed through an increase in ASIC’s Assetless Administration Fund to ensure it achieves its policy objectives, the submission said.
“Increased funding to AA Fund would support registered liquidators to identify and remove bad actors from the ecosystem,” it said.
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