Inspector‑General of Taxation
Section 1: Agency overview and resources
1.1 Strategic direction
The primary function of the Inspector‑General of Taxation (IGT) is to improve the administration of the tax laws for the benefit of all taxpayers. This is to be achieved by reviewing both the systems established by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to administer the tax laws and the systems established by tax laws in relation to administrative matters. The Inspector‑General's two outputs involve the identification of systemic issues and the provision of independent advice to government on the administration of the tax laws.
For 2008‑09, the Inspector‑General's strategic direction will be to maximise the advantage of the bridge between the community and tax administration that the role provides. This will include broadening the base of community input to the process of identifying systemic issues, and increasing focus on identifying improvements that will benefit the maximum number of taxpayers. The aim will be to encourage the broader community to help protect and improve the integrity of the tax system by using the independent channel of the Inspector‑General to raise issues and have them transparently examined. Strategies for obtaining input and submissions from professional bodies and other representative stakeholder organisations will also be continued.
The Inspector‑General also intends to extend successful strategies of engaging external expertise, particularly professional research expertise, as input to particular reviews.
The Inspector‑General will also explore new strategies for undertaking reviews including joint projects with the ATO aimed at identifying and agreeing administrative improvements.
The Inspector‑General expects to complete five formal reviews during 2008‑09. A formal review will also be commenced of the extent to which the ATO has implemented agreed recommendations from Inspector‑General reviews completed since July 2006. This would be the second such follow‑up review and it would examine the extent to which the ATO has built upon the findings of the first review that 62 out of 65 agreed recommendations had been implemented.
1.2 Agency resource statement
Table 1.1 shows the total resources from all origins. The table summarises how resources will be applied to the IGT.
Table 1.1: Inspector‑General of Taxation resource statement — Budget
estimates for 2008‑09 as at Budget May 2008
1. Appropriation Bill (No.1) 2008‑09.
2. Receipts received under s31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
3. Estimated adjusted balance carried forward from previous year for annual appropriations.
1.3 Budget measures
Table 1.2: Inspector‑General of Taxation 2008‑09 Budget measures
The IGT does not have any Budget measures for 2008—09.
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