Australian Taxation Office

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the principal revenue collection agency for the Australian Government. The Tax Office is within the portfolio of the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The Tax Office is responsible for managing Australia's revenue through collections systems which include income tax, Goods & Services Tax (GST), superannuation and excise. In addition to managing collection systems, the Tax Office also administers various benefits and refunds, including income tax & GST refunds, the superannuation guarantee, higher education loans and the baby bonus. [ cite web|url=http://www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.asp?doc=/content/53363.htm&pc=001/001/002/007/003&mnu=39512&mfp=001&st=&cy=1 |title=Who are we? |accessdate=2008-06-15 |date=2008-05-26 |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia ]

Organisational Structure

The Commissioner of Taxation is the head of the Tax Office and is responsible for the administration of Australia's taxation system. The Commissioner of Taxation (and three Second Commissioners of Taxation) are appointed by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia for terms of seven years. The Commissioner and Second Commissioners are eligible for re-appointment after each term. [ cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/A4C2BFCF9E5E0EF3CA2573AD0026811A |title=ComLaw Act Compilations - Attachment - Taxation Administration Act 1953 |accessdate=2008-06-15 |date=n.d |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia ] The current Commissioner is Michael D'Ascenzo (appointed in January 2006), the previous Commissioner was Michael Carmody.

The Tax Office's operations are managed through sub-plans which are used to allocate resources. The sub-plans are:
* Compliance
* Easier, Cheaper & More Personalised
* Information Technology
* Law
* Operations
* People & PlaceBusiness and service lines (BSLs) exist within each sub-plan. Each BSL focuses on a market segment (such as 'Micro Enterprises & Individuals') and a revenue product (such as 'Income Tax').

Performance

The Commissioner of Taxation releases an Annual Report each financial year. The Annual Report outlines the Tax Office's performance and achievements for each financial year.

Some of the highlights outlined in the 2006-07 Annual Report include:
* net tax collections increased to AUD$248.0 billion;
* 1,508,847 registrations were received and processed;
* 18,024,081 activity statements and 14,324,880 income tax returns were processed;
* the growth of debt was slowed to 5.4% for the year, compared with 6.4% in 2005-06;
* 1,573,993 debt cases were finalised. [ cite web|url=http://www.ato.gov.au/print.asp?doc=/content/00108378.htm |title=Commissioner of Taxation Annual Report 2006-07 |accessdate=2008-06-15 |date=n.d |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia ]

ee also

* Taxation in Australia
* Business Activity Statement
* Taxpayer's Charter
* Taxation Administration Act

References

External links

* [http://www.ato.gov.au Australian Taxation Office]