Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Confidentiality of Taxpayer Information) Bill 2009 consolidates taxation secrecy and disclosure provisions which are currently scattered across 18 taxation acts into a single framework.

Not only are the existing provisions spread across the taxation law but they were also enacted over time in different drafting styles, leading to an inconsistent level of protection for taxpayer information and uncertainty for the Australian Taxation Office, other users of taxpayer information and taxpayers themselves.

The inconsistencies and ambiguities associated with the existing law have the potential to undermine its primary purpose, which is to provide clear protection for taxpayer information. The taxation law has long recognised that such protection is fundamental to ensuring that taxpayers maintain their confidence in the operation of the tax system.

The new framework draws on principles in the current law. It will continue to prohibit, through criminal offence provisions, the unauthorised disclosure of taxpayer information obtained or generated in the course of administering a taxation law.

It will also broadly retain the existing disclosure provisions, which recognise the need for taxation officers to use taxpayer information in the performance of their duties and the legitimate need of other government agencies to access the information to more effectively deliver services or enforce laws.

The new framework will also standardise key definitions to overcome existing ambiguities. It will clarify the circumstances in which identifiable taxpayer information may be provided to a minister and to a parliamentary committee. However, taxpayers can be confident that their personal information will remain secure, because it is not the intention of this bill to broaden the circumstances in which information can be disclosed.

This bill also introduces clear rules to govern the on-disclosure of information provided to non-taxation officers. Under the existing law and the new framework, taxpayer information can be provided to non-taxation officers for certain limited purposes. The new framework will make it clear that a recipient of taxpayer information is able to use the information only for the purpose for which the information was provided or a related purpose. Such an approach strikes the right balance between the protection of taxpayer privacy and facilitating the work of government.

This bill also proposes to introduce a number of new disclosure provisions where the public benefit of disclosure outweighs taxpayer privacy. Of note, this bill will facilitate greater disclosures of taxpayer information to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC, to, amongst other things, enable a greater level of cooperation between ASIC and the Taxation Office in addressing fraudulent phoenix activity.

This bill has been developed following thorough public consultation in early 2009. The government would like to thank all those who provided comments on the exposure draft of the bill and the explanatory memorandum. Many of the comments received are reflected in the bill before us today.

This bill will enhance taxpayer privacy by providing greater transparency in the circumstances in which taxpayer information can be used. This bill will also reduce the volume of taxation law and is a reflection of the government’s commitment to simplify the operation of the taxation law.

Full details of this bill are contained in the explanatory memorandum.

Debate (on motion by Mr Coulton) adjourned.