As a believer that taxes should be higher rather than lower, I like to think of myself as a friend of the Australian Tax Office. But at present I’m finding the taxman pretty hard to like.
I note that complaints to the Inspector-General of Taxation about the tax office have more than doubled. And I have my own complaint to make.
Inspector-General of Taxation and Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen told Senate estimates earlier this month that complaints against the tax office had increased by 127 per cent, mainly because of the office’s increased focus on debt collection and its issuing of penalty notices.
“Most of those complaints are from people trying to pay their tax but who can’t meet the conditions set by the ATO,” she said. Small businesses were finding it tough to meet the conditions set by the office. “We continue to look out for people or businesses most at risk of falling between the cracks and for whom the tax system is not working as intended.
“I have publicly raised my concerns about how tax debt is being collected and enforced, and the impact on taxpayers who are trying to do the right thing. The ATO does have administrative powers to offer relief for taxpayers who are experiencing financial hardship, and we can continue to encourage them to use those powers, with empathy, as the community rightly expects,” Owen said.
As for my complaint, I’m expecting a massive refund from last financial year’s tax return but, though it usually takes only a couple of weeks for the office to process your return and issue its assessment, with a bill or, more usually, a refund attached, I’ve been waiting more than three months and have heard nothing.
Admittedly, my case is a strange one. I’m doing something few people would do, even if they could afford to. And the money involved is huge. So I’m not the least surprised the taxman wanted to take a good look at my return before giving it the tick.
But how long should that take? And here’s the thing: when I looked up the office’s website to find a number I could ring to ask what the problem is and offer to help them check my claim was legit, I followed various links on the topic and read a lot of friendly guff on the matter, only to be told to be patient.
Call them up? You could try. But getting a human being on the phone at the tax office is extremely complicated these days. They actually make it quite difficult for anyone to just ring up and ask what the problem is. Prepare for hours sitting on hold. They’ll do it in their own good time and, in the meantime, there’s nothing you can do about it. Really? This is a reasonable way to treat a long-suffering taxpayer?
Do it online, I hear you say. The website is indeed snazzy, making a great show of being helpful without being helpful at all.
As you may know, I was a chartered accountant before I became a journalist. It’s not a decision I regret. But this means I was myself a tax agent for many years before deciding I wouldn’t be doing people’s tax returns on the side and surrendered my badge, so to speak.
I thought the reason why the ATO makes it so difficult for punters like me to ring up with queries was partly because most people have their return done by a tax agent, who could do the ringing up for them.
When I inquired via a few mates, however, I discovered to my amazement that tax agents aren’t allowed to ring up with queries. Really? I can understand why the tax office doesn’t want every Tom, Dick and Harry phoning up and taking up its precious time, but when you won’t even talk to the professionals, that’s pretty high-handed.
We’re the government, so you have no choice but to deal with us. We command; you obey. We make the rules, and you get no say in them. It suits us to deal with your return in our own good time and you are required to wait your turn in silence.
If your return gets caught in the too-hard basket, that’s our prerogative and your tough luck.
I don’t think it was connected to this particular return, but I do remember getting a strange letter from the tax office. It said that some of the amounts I was claiming for were particularly large. It hoped I knew that exaggerating my claims was against the law. So maybe I’d like to take this opportunity to cut them back.
But please, please, please don’t send them any receipts. We feel free to insinuate that you’re dishonest, but please don’t attempt to prove your honesty by cluttering our office with your piddling receipts. We’re allowed to impugn you; you’re not allowed to defend your reputation.
When I see the tax office has become overzealous in its efforts to collect taxes owed, I wonder whether what we’re seeing is an effort to increase efficiency that has gone over the top.
If so, I guess the people leading this efficiency drive have no desire to offend upstanding citizens – especially not if they start complaining to the politicians about the way the bureaucrats are treating them.
Of course, it may be another case of the previous government’s robo-debt: the bureaucrats’ questionable behaviour is the result of pressure from their political masters. Then again, it may be just that old age is making me overly sensitive.
Ross Gittins is economics editor.
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