On behalf of the Commissioner of Taxation, I am pleased to report on the performance of the administration of the GST system by presenting the GST administration annual performance report 2021–22.
This year we raised $73.6 billion in GST cash collections, 1.2% (or $0.9 billion) above the revised budget estimate and 0.7% higher than in 2020–21. This includes $5.7 billion raised by the Department of Home Affairs.
Overall, the GST system is operating well as evidenced by the vast majority of GST revenue collected voluntarily. The net GST gap for 2020–21 is estimated to be 5.9%, meaning that the ATO collects over 94% of the total potential GST revenue.
We know that most businesses want to do the right thing. Traditionally our focus has been on making it easy for businesses to get into the system and making it easy to comply. However, our response to protect the GST system from large-scale opportunistic GST fraud identified in early 2022, meant we needed to modify our approach. Through Operation Protego, we prevented the release of more than $1.7 billion in suspected fraudulent GST refunds between mid-April and 30 June 2022. We have now implemented changes that strike a different balance between making it easy for people to get into the business tax system and comply, and harder to get in for those who should not be there.
The GST system and its administration continues to evolve in line with changes in technology, business practices and community expectations. To support our clients, we have focused on tailored engagement and enhanced our online services to meet the growing demand for digital interactions. For the first time, Online services for business became the default online service for businesses to interact with us via a secure digital platform – enabling clients to easily manage their interactions at a time that suits them.
Challenging economic conditions continued throughout 2021–22, and the importance of mutual engagement and transparency have been paramount. Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken a relatively accommodative stance towards outstanding tax obligations and focused on maintaining voluntary compliance and keeping taxpayers engaged with the tax system. As the effects of the pandemic subsided, we re-commenced firmer and stronger actions in November 2021, but with a spirit of engagement and transparency. This ensures clients are aware of their obligations, the assistance available to them, as well as the actions we will take if they choose not to engage with us.
In summary, we are committed to delivering improved experiences for our clients by providing them with help and support to continue getting things right, to avoid making mistakes and to participate in the system more easily.
Finally, I would like to thank the Treasury, the states and territories representatives on the GST Administration Sub-Committee and the members of the GST Policy and Administration Sub-group, for their ongoing support and advice during the year.
You can also download this document in Portable Document Format GST administration annual performance report 2021–22 (PDF 1.7MB).This link will download a file
Will Day
Deputy Commissioner
of Taxation
GST Key performance indicators (KPIs) |
2017–18 |
2018–19 |
2019–20 |
2020–21 |
2021–22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Net GST gap (%) including non-pursuable debt |
6.8 |
7.7 |
6.3 |
5.9 |
- |
Net GST gap (%) excluding non-pursuable debt |
6.0 |
7.0 |
4.5 |
3.7 |
- |
Voluntary compliance ratio (%) by number of taxpayers (strict) |
43.8 |
44.7 |
29.7 |
26.5 |
- |
Voluntary compliance ratio (%) by number of taxpayers (relaxed) |
78.6 |
82.7 |
78.3 |
75.3 |
- |
Voluntary compliance ratio (%) by value of GST |
82.3 |
81.9 |
74.6 |
73.8 |
- |
Ratio of collectable debt to GST revenue (%) debt collection rate (accrual method) |
6.2 |
6.4 |
11.8 |
12.1 |
13.6 |
Ratio of collectable debt to GST revenue (%) debt collection rate (cash method) |
6.3 |
6.6 |
13.1 |
12.0 |
14.1 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Small business |
- |
- |
- |
87 |
95 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Privately owned and wealthy groups |
- |
- |
- |
66 |
62 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Public and multinational businesses |
- |
- |
- |
75 |
53 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Not-for-profit |
- |
- |
- |
81 |
35 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Other |
- |
- |
- |
85 |
92 |
Strike rate of audit activities (%) Overall |
69 |
79 |
80 |
86 |
94 |
Costs as a percentage of GST revenue (%) |
1.07 |
1.01 |
0.92 |
0.71 |
0.87 |
Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) claims rejected (%) |
1.6 |
3.0 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
GST compliance program (Schedule D) return on investment (ratio) |
- |
- |
15.5:1 |
11.3:1 |
30.1:1* |
Wider revenue effects ($m) Preventative actions and sustained compliance |
165 |
253 |
370 |
426 |
390 |
Wider revenue effects ($m) Sustained lodgment compliance |
696 |
707 |
477 |
370 |
224 |
Wider revenue effects ($m) Total |
861 |
960 |
847 |
796 |
614 |
GST assured (%) |
8.1 |
5.8 |
1.1 |
- |
- |
Figure 1: GST snapshot 2021–22