Revised Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan MP)Chapter 2 - Amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953
Outline of chapter
2.1 Schedule 2 to the Bill allows the ATO to provide the Officer with otherwise protected taxpayer information so that he or she can properly perform or exercise his or her statutory functions or powers under the PS Act.
Context of amendments
2.2 Providing the PBO with access to this information will further enhance the integrity of the PBO's revenue costings and analyses. In conjunction with the amendments contained in Schedule 1 to this Bill, these amendments will also help to promote and inform fiscal policy debate in Australia.
Summary of new law
2.3 Schedule 2 to the Bill provides a new exception to the confidentiality of taxpayer information provisions in Division 355 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TA Act). These provisions make it an offence for a taxation officer (including the Commissioner of Taxation) to make a record of, or disclose, protected information. This is information that was acquired by virtue of being a taxation officer and identifies or is reasonably capable of identifying the relevant taxpayer.
2.4 The exception allows taxation officers (effectively, the ATO) to provide the PBO with otherwise protected information, but requires that such information must not include specific identifying information, namely, an entity's name, contact details or ABN. Further, the ATO can only provide such information for the purposes of the Officer performing or exercising his or her statutory functions or powers under the PS Act. [Schedule 2, item 1, subsection 355-65(4)]
2.5 As with all exceptions to the taxpayer secrecy provisions, the information provided to the PBO must be kept confidential, and be only used for the strict purposes provided for in this Bill.
Comparison of key features of new law and current law
| New law | Current law |
|---|---|
| The ATO can provide the PBO with otherwise protected taxpayer information, but such information must not include specific identifying information, namely, an entity's name, contact details or ABN. Further, the ATO can only provide such information for the purposes of the Officer performing or exercising his or her statutory functions or powers under the PS Act | The ATO is precluded from making a record of, or disclosing, information to the Officer which could identify or would reasonably be capable of identifying taxpaying entities. |
Application and transitional provisions
2.6 The amendments in Schedule 2 to the Bill commence on the day after the Act receives the Royal Assent, and there are no specific application provisions. [Clause 2]