Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Deputy Chairman , Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—When the Tax Laws Amendment (Confidentiality of Taxpayer Information) Bill 2010 was first introduced I circulated, on behalf of the shadow Assistant Treasurer, Senator Cormann, some amendments that we believed were important, that would have enhanced the bill and would have provided a number of protections since that time. There have been ongoing discussions between the minister’s office and the shadow Assistant Treasurer. We believe goodwill is being shown. A number of those amendments have been drafted and, whilst agreement has not been reached, I am advised there has been some significant progress.

The coalition is very concerned to ensure that taxpayers have a high level of confidence in the way the Taxation Office uses information. The amendments under negotiation seek to increase the reporting requirements on a number of categories of protected disclosures to ministers, law enforcement agencies and other government agencies. The proposed amendments will also seek to impose a greater level of internal oversight on certain types of disclosure by requiring a matter to be referred to a more senior officer, as recommended by a unanimous Senate Economics Legislation Committee report. Finally, the proposed amendments drafted by the coalition require that the ATO publish its internal procedures and that those procedures be disallowable instruments. This will give the parliament and the public an increased level of oversight of the way the Australian Taxation Office treats protected information.

I am advised, as I have said, that there has been significant progress and that the government has agreed to some of the amendments although it has concern with others. As a result, the discussions are ongoing and have not reached finality. Accordingly, the coalition will not be moving amendments in the House or opposing the bill. These negotiations will be ongoing and we will be moving amendments in the Senate when the bill goes there for further deliberations. Hopefully the government will agree to and support the amendments after further discussions.

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