The newly appointed Inspector-General of Taxation, Ruth Owen, has recommended changes to make it faster and simpler for all taxpayers to lodge an objection with the ATO.  

The Inspector-General’s report highlights 4 areas of improvement: 

• increasing accessibility by extending online lodgement to all taxpayers 

• streamlining processes to reduce time and resources devoted to high volume, low risk objections  

• increasing taxpayer engagement to speed up the time taken to complete an objection  

• learning lessons from objections to prevent the number of objections needing to be made. 

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IGTO seeks to know if you have been a victim of identity and/or financial fraud that is committed through the tax system – or know someone who has been?

The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) is concerned about ongoing media reports of increasing instances of tax identity and financial fraud.

Our Office has held recent discussions with complainants and tax practitioners confirming taxpayers have been experiencing heightened instances of identity and financial fraud in relation to their tax affairs and accounts. This includes those relating to the ATO’s systems and processes to address these issues. As a result, the IGTO has commenced an ‘own initiative investigation’ into the important area of Tax Identity Fraud.

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The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) has today released a brief history of the Taxpayers’ Charter. The paper is intended to serve as a thought leadership document to encourage feedback and recommendations from stakeholders about how the Charter could be improved.

The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) has published a Register of potential topics for review investigations as identified and suggested by various stakeholders, our taxation complaints service and other sources.

The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) Karen Payne, has today released her latest report comprising an initial review of the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) handling of objections by taxpayers.

The interim report and summary slide deck “Your taxpayer right to object – the ATO’s administration and management of objections” is Phase 1 of the IGTO’s investigation announced in December 2021, looking into the Australian Taxation Office’s Administration and Management of Objections.

The Inspector-General of Taxation’s report into Aspects of the Pay As You Go instalments system has been publicly released.

Karen Payne, the Inspector General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman has released the FY22 Annual Report. The report includes details on our performance and achievements during the financial year ended 30 June 2022 (FY22) and reports. It also provides an accountability overview detailing the ways in which we have assisted the community and helped to improve taxation administration in Australia.”

The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO), Ms Karen Payne, has today announced three new review investigations that her office will be progressing throughout 2022.

The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO), Ms Karen Payne, today announced the launch of a new investigation into effective communication of taxpayer rights to review, complain and appeal decisions made and actions taken by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).