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Treasurer Restricts Tax Inspector-General

August 2003

Mr David Vos, who advised the government on how to introduce the GST system, has now been appointed (effective 25/08/03) inaugural Inspector-General of Taxation. He is a former partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers and chaired the Tax Consultative Committee of Treasury, from October 1998, to advise Federal Treasurer Peter Costello on the proposed GST system. Under that Committee’s terms of reference, Vos was to "ensure resulting compliance and administrative costs of (its) recommendations (were) kept to a minimum". Vos’ work resulted in his being awarded an Order of Australia.

While Assistant Treasurer Senator Helen Coonan announced Vos’ appointment as a "new advocate for taxpayers and an independent adviser to the government with broad powers to review tax administration", it seems his brief will not involve tax cases or problematic dealings of taxpayers. Coonan had nominated an alternative candidate but was out-voted in Cabinet in favour of Costello's nomination of Vos. Costello believes Vos, a former ICAA spokesman on indirect taxes, is the ideal person to neutralise the threatened work-to-rules campaign by the Chartered Accountants body against administrative bungles of the ATO.

The existing Ombudsman’s office continues to employ a few ex-ATO employees as the ‘Tax Ombudsman’ on a miniscule budget. However, under Costello’s model, the independent Tax Inspector-General is to follow the US counterpart of being the auditor of the ATO to streamline ATO administrative and tax collection systems rather than a taxpayer-advocate role on the Senator Coonan model.

For further information, contact Joe Lederman at BALDWINS, Australian Lawyers & Consultants.

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