Media alert: 25 August 2000
HOUSE ECONOMICS COMMITTEE RELEASES REVIEW INTO TFNs
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance
and Public Administration will release its report on the Tax File Number
system this Monday 28 August 2000. The report, Numbers on the Run, focuses
on the way in which the Australian Tax Office manages it Tax File Number
system and data. Following the tabling of this report in Parliament at
12.50pm, the House Economics Committee will hold a media conference to
discuss the findings of the report and the 26 recommendations.
Media Conference:
Numbers on the Run report launch by the House Economics Committee
When: Monday 28 August, 1.30pm 2pm [after tabling]
Where:Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House, Canberra.
Copies of the Report, Numbers on the Run, will be available
from 12.50pm, Monday 28 August, in the Media Conference Venue, 2R2.
'The starting point for this inquiry into the management of Tax File
Numbers was the Auditor-General's finding that $460 million in revenue
was not being collected by the Tax Office,' House Economics Committee
Chairman, David Hawker, explained. 'The weaknesses and inefficiencies
we found in the Tax Office system, and the flow-on effects to other areas
of government administration, make this $460 million a conservative estimate.'
For 15 years the Auditor-General and parliamentary inquiries have found
shortcomings in the quality of ATO's data and systems. Numbers on the
Run reinforces the significant problems identified in the Auditor-General's
1999 performance audit of the Tax File Number system.
'TFN data and systems are the basic building blocks of our tax revenue
system', Mr Hawker said. 'High quality data and systems are crucial to
ensuring the integrity of the administration of taxation, income support,
superannuation and employment generally. The operation of the Australian
Business Number is also dependent on the quality of TFN data and systems.
It is vital that the Tax Office focus on getting the TFN basics right.'
For media comment contact:
David Hawker MP, House Economics Committee Chairman, 02 6277 4837,
Parliament House
For further information contact:
Melissa Stutsel, Inquiry Secretary, on 02 6277 4587, EMail: EFPA.Reps@aph.gov.au
Sally Webster, House of Representatives Media Adviser, on 02 6277 2063
or 0401 143 724
For background information on the Tax File Number inquiry visit:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/efpa/
|
