Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I present the committee's report entitled Report 424: Eighth biannual hearing with the Commissioner of Taxation.

In accordance with standing order 39(f) the report was made a parliamentary paper.

This is the first report into the biannual hearings with the Commissioner of Taxation from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. The hearings are the result of a recommendation made by the committee in Report 410: tax administration. The rationale for the hearings is to provide a mechanism whereby dialogue between the Australian Taxation Office and the parl­iament could be promoted.

Traditionally, the hearings have provided an opportunity for members of the com­mittee to scrutinise issues surrounding tax administration. While there have been public hearings with the Commissioner of Taxation since 2007, no reports have been tabled. The committee in the 43rd Parliament is seeking to expand the parliament's role with regard to the scrutiny of the ATO. Therefore, in a bipartisan way, the committee determined to prepare a report on the biannual hearings to increase scrutiny of the ATO and its transparency to the public.

Integrity in tax administration is a critical foundation block of the Australian taxation system. Whilst evidence suggests that in the majority of cases this is done well, the committee is concerned about the increasing number of complaints about the ATO. In keeping with the goal of increasing scrutiny of the ATO, the committee will be enlarging future biannual hearings to include public evidence from external scrutiny and integrity bodies such as the Ombudsman, the Australian National Audit Office and the Inspector General of Taxation as well as from peak industry and consumer bodies. Each of these integrity bodies has expertise upon which the committee can draw when reviewing the operations of the ATO. In addition to greater scrutiny of the ATO, the committee anticipates that among its key responsibilities will be monitoring proposed changes to the taxation system and working to ensure that the ATO is sufficiently supported and positioned to implement any proposed changes.

In this report the committee has made a number of recommendations that are aimed at ensuring the ATO provides the committee with sufficient and timely advice prior to the next biannual hearing to facilitate improved scrutiny and ultimately lead to better results. The report includes recommendations that the ATO provide the committee with a submission prior to the next biannual hearing that details the number of and reasons for complaints, the activities the ATO is undertaking to ensure compliance with Australian taxation requirements, the input of the ATO into policy implementation and its response to external scrutiny reports and recommendations. The committee looks forward to working with the ATO to build and foster community confidence in the integrity of the Australian tax system. The committee intends this report to open a dialogue with the ATO and to create a foundation upon which future hearings will build. We look forward to continuing and further cultivating a productive relationship with the ATO, one which encourages and promotes scrutiny and transparency and therefore further increases confidence in the ATO's work.

In conclusion, I thank my committee colleagues for their work on this inquiry and the hardworking diligent secretariat of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit for their ongoing work. I also thank representatives of the ATO who made themselves available to attend the hearing. I look forward to a positive response from them to these recommendations and to greater interest and oversight from the 43rd Parliament. There are nine recommendations contained in this report. I do hope the ATO, and the tax commissioner in particular, takes them seriously. I commend the report to the House.

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I rise to speak in support of the committee's report entitled Report 424: Eighth biannual hearing with the Commissioner of Taxation. As the chair of the committee, the member for Lyne, has just stated, it is a responsibility of the committee to hold biannual hearings with the Commissioner of Taxation. These biannual hearings came about as a consequence of recommendations made as a result of an inquiry of the 41st Parliament. Having said that, this is the first time that the committee has actually issued a report in relation to those biannual hearings. As much as those biannual hearings are public hearings, and any of the public can listen to and attend these hearings, this committee believes that it is important that we deliver a report that outlines the evidence that was given at those hearings and, importantly, how we can ensure that there is continued transparency and accountability in relation to the Australian Taxation Office.

There are a number of recommendations arising from this report. Some of those recommendations go to the processes of the Taxation Office in relation to public account­ability and to having reporting systems that the public can view through public documents and websites. Some of those recommendations go to the information that is reported to the committee itself in the biannual hearings. We hope that we can get some improvements in the material that is brought before us and in accountability of especially the complaints processes and the action on complaints handling being taken by the Australian Taxation Office.

I also acknowledge the hard work of the committee secretariat and all of the committee members. The committee has a pretty hefty workload and, consequently, the secretariat has an extensive workload. We do appreciate the work that it does in all of the areas for which the committee has respons­ibility. I also echo the comments of the chair in relation to the committee's looking forward to working with the Australian Taxation Office to build and foster comm­unity confidence in the integrity of the Australian taxation system. It is very important that the public has confidence in this integrity. Our responsibility as a committee is to ensure that the parliament has the materials before it to ensure that integrity and to work cooperatively with the Australian Taxation Office, and also the Australian National Audit Office, to provide transparency and accountability and to build on that confidence in the integrity of the system.

This is a good report. I am pleased that the committee has taken the initiative to issue this report and that it will continue to issue reports on biannual hearings. We hope the Australian Taxation Office gives serious consideration to the recommendations made in this report. We look forward to the ATO coming before the committee in its next biannual hearing later this year.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Lyne wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a later occasion?

Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.