The Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) Annual Report for the financial year ended 30 June 2020 (FY20) was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 23 October 2020. The report details the activities and performance of the IGTO during FY20. The IGTO Annual Report FY20 is available for download here. Some key points to note include:

• Our Performance report in Part 2 – which reports against Key Performance Areas and Indicators from our Corporate Plan for FY20. Our strategic priorities and key activities for FY21 and beyond are set out in our latest Corporate Plan FY21-24 which can be accessed here.
• The 16 recommendations made following the inquiry and report by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee into the performance of the Inspector-General of Taxation – all of which are matters for the Government’s consideration.
• The IGTO office celebrated 5 years as the Taxation Ombudsman and continued to assist the community with their concerns about the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Tax Practitioners Board.
  • During FY20, we received 2,775 taxation complaints which represents a 29% increase in taxation complaints over those 5 years.
  • We continue to assist the Australian community with concerns about eligibility and access to the Government’s COVID-19 support measures that are delivered through the taxation system.
• The IGTO also commenced the following three review investigations to investigate actions, systems and taxation laws regarding tax administration matters and to identify improvement opportunities:
  1. An investigation and exploration of undisputed tax debts in Australia;
  2. Death and Taxes: An investigation into ATO systems and processes for dealing with deceased estates; and
  3. An investigation into the effectiveness of ATO communications of taxpayers’ rights to complain, review and appeal decisions, actions and outcomes made by the ATO.

The IGTO’s role is to build the community’s confidence and trust in the taxation system. We continue to help ensure that Australia’s taxation system is operating as intended, and is being administered correctly, fairly, consistently and transparently.

Karen Payne
Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman