The Tax Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) on The Exercise of the General Powers of Administration and associated terms of reference (the Investigation).
The General Powers of Administration (GPA) gives the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) a discretionary power relating to matters that affect the administration of the taxation and superannuation legislation. The GPA underpins a large portion of the
Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) activities and can have a significant impact on taxpayers' management of their affairs and their interactions with the Commissioner.
We have had the benefit of reviewing the submission prepared by the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (LCA) for the purposes of the Investigation (LCA Submission). The Tax Institute endorses and supports the LCA submission. Please
consider the LCA submission to be generally a reflection of our views regarding the GPA and the matters raised in the terms of reference for the Investigation. In addition, we have set out below comments in Appendix A which build on key points outlined in the LCA Submission, and also reflect feedback from The Tax Institute's members.