Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan delivered his 7th address as Tax Commissioner to The Tax Institute’s 34th National Convention in Hobart on 14 March 2019. He has been Tax Commissioner for 6 years now and said he is roughly halfway through his tenure at the head of the ATO.
Mr Jordan reminded the audience of measures that have been put in place to support small businesses eg:
- The ATO has introduced or enhanced a range of services aimed at earlier and fair resolution of disputes for small business, including In-house Facilitation, Dispute Assist, ATO Test Case Litigation and Fast Intensive Triage.
- The Government’s expansion of the Tax Clinics program. The tax clinics are independent from the ATO and will assist unrepresented taxpayers to understand and comply with their tax and super obligations. The Commissioner said the new tax clinics will soon enter pilot phase in 10 universities across the country and are set up to fill a niche gap in the market for unrepresented individuals and small businesses.
- From 1 March 2019, there is a new small business division at the AAT, offering a low-cost avenue for small businesses who dispute the ATO’s assessment of their tax position. Generally, these hearings will be without lawyers, but if lawyers are required, the ATO will cover the cost of equivalent legal representation for the small business. Applicants will also have a case manager to support them, pay a reduced application fee and, after the hearing process is concluded, decisions will be finalised within 28 days.