Review of Income Tax Self Assessment - Discussion paper

The Treasurer announced the Review of Aspects of Income Tax Self Assessment in November 2003. The Review is exploring ways to refine Australia’s income tax self assessment system to provide taxpayers with greater certainty and lower compliance costs, without jeopardising the capacity of the Australian Taxation Office (the Tax Office) to collect taxes.

The Review is examining, among other things, six aspects of Australia’s current income tax self assessment system:

• the level of reliance that taxpayers can and should be able to place on Tax Office advice
• the proper time frame for amending assessments
• the appropriateness of the length of tax audits
• the circumstances in which the Tax Office should undertake earlier examination of tax returns
• whether taxpayers are adequately protected from unreasonable delays in enforcing the tax law
• aspects of the operation of the General Interest Charge (GIC).

The Review has not been asked to consider fundamental tax policy changes, such as the extent to which tax returns, or categories of tax deduction, could be dispensed with. Nor is the Review looking at tax collection issues or assessment of other taxes.