Individuals Stewardship Group key messages 23 July 2024

myTax 2024

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) provided an overview of changes to myTax 2024 and improvements to support clients to lodge a correct tax return, including the expansion of the pre-fill program. The ATO uses risk and trend analysis to identify where taxpayers require additional information and support to understand their tax entitlements and obligations. This ensures taxpayers have the right information at the right time and the tools they need to confidently lodge their tax return.

Changes to the Australian Government payments labels in the individual tax return for both self-preparers and agents are effective from 1 July 2024. Clients will be alerted to pre-filled data from Services Australia that the ATO has high confidence in and will be deterred from adjusting or deleting the data. If a client is adamant the data is incorrect, they must select the reason why from available drop-down options before lodging their tax return.

The ATO is committed to more preventative and protective strategies to support clients in getting their reporting right the first time. Tactics like enhanced pre-fill improve the client experience and divert manual compliance resources away from treating inadvertent, careless behaviours to the behaviours that need it most, such as those deliberately trying to gain advantage.

Member comments

Members queried whether tax agents have visibility of the same level of third-party pre-filled data. The ATO confirmed the same data is available to agents and self-preparers. Payments from Services Australia reported at labels 5 and 6 of the tax return are high-confidence data.

ATO impersonation scams

The ATO provided an overview of how to identify ATO impersonation scams and protect personal identifying information. Cyber criminals and scammers continue to use a mix of tried-and-tested and new tricks to target Australian taxpayers and obtain their personal information.

The scam landscape has shifted methodology from phone to email and SMS phishing scams. Scammers are now requesting personal information such as name, bank details and myGov sign-in details. Scammers are sophisticated at generating fake communications that look like genuine ATO correspondence.

The ATO cautions taxpayers to look out for:

• unexpected requests for personal or financial information, especially claims that are urgent or time sensitive
• emails or SMS that contain a hyperlink to login to government services such as myGov
• suspicious or unknown transactions and interactions on myGov, bank accounts, superannuation accounts etc.

If in doubt, taxpayers should not engage or provide personal identifying information via any channel, and should phone the ATO to check their account. The ATO provides channels for the community to verify if an ATO interaction is legitimate and report ATO scams.

Member comments

It can be difficult to differentiate between genuine ATO calls and an impersonator, leading to overall distrust from the public. Members highlighted that some groups are vulnerable to impersonation scams, including older Australians and migrants who speak English as a second language.

Community environmental scan

Non-government members were asked to provide feedback on interacting with the ATO via digital channels and to share any issues or drivers their organisation is currently experiencing.

Member comments

There are cohorts of the community who speak English as a second language and are technology savvy but face barriers interacting with agencies like the ATO when apps or web-based products are only available in English.

Members welcomed the news of a dedicated Advocate Help Desk for representatives working directly with people who are experiencing vulnerability and need immediate assistance from the ATO.

Attendees

Guest attendees

Apologies list