• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Content Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

Self Employed Australia

"Everyone needs an Advocate"

“Everyone needs an Advocate”

  • Current Advocacy
    • Reforming the ATO
    • Fair Contracts
    • Fixing Disputes/Prompt Payment
    • The ‘Gig’ Economy
  • Past Advocacy
    • Submissions
    • Defending ABN Contractors
    • Work Safety
    • Independent Contractors Act
    • Owner-Drivers
    • International Labour Organisation
    • Independent Contractors: How Many?
  • SEA Submissions
    • Submissions
    • Independent Contractors: How Many?
  • NotAboveTheLaw
    • Robodebt
    • Hotel Quarantine 2020
    • Chemical Fire 2019
  • Be Your Own Boss

ATO – Mongrel Bunch of Bastards – one year on

April 9, 2019 by Self-Employed Australia

It is one year to the day since the Four Corners show ‘Mongrel Bunch of Bastards’ was aired. This ABC production exposed the ATO’s mistreatment of small business people. Watch the show here.  It continues to be relevant.

So, what has happened in 12 months?

  • First, the ATO denied that there was a problem. It repeatedly stated ‘nothing to see here folks’ in Parliament and the media.
  • Media stories surged, particularly in The Age/SMH, ABC and The Australian.
  • A string of parliamentary and bureaucratic investigations and reports flowed. All confirmed bad treatment by the ATO. This included the Small Business Ombudsman, the Inspector-General of Taxation, a retired federal court judge, a top ex-ATO executive, an ATO internal report and more. The parliamentary committee overseeing the ATO confirmed major problems and called for significant changes, including (effectively) a rewrite of the Taxpayers Charter (Recommendation 5).

Still the ATO publicly denied any problems. Then Federal Labor called for reform to the ATO’s internal procedures. This was an important step forward.

However, while still continuing to deny problems the ATO:

  • Made significant changes to key personnel.
  • Effectively implemented the ALP’s call for a new internal review processes through an ‘Independent 2nd Commissioner’.

Most importantly

  • The Morrison Government established a new Small Business Tax Tribunal which is a breakthrough for small business people. And the ATO has cooperated in the fairer structure of this new tribunal.

We’re not really that interested if the ATO wants to maintain its ‘nothing to see here folks’ approach. It can continue whatever media line it chooses. What’s important is whether there are fairer treatment processes in place for small business people. And there are—both through the Small Business Tax Tribunal and through the new ATO internal review process. But both these processes need to be tested to see if the practice matches the conceptual design.

There is more to be done. We can expect that the ATO ‘willow tree’ will bend back into shape if the ‘winds’ of media and public scrutiny stop blowing. We must work hard now to get the Small Business Tax Tribunal and other measures locked into legislation. This will take several years of effort.

Filed Under: Campaigns, Reforming the ATO, Taxation

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • SEA historical website January 31, 2024
  • Closed doors January 31, 2024
  • We ask you: Make your views known to independent Senators! — Urgent January 9, 2024
  • We ask Senator Pocock: Does he support the outlawing of self-employment? January 5, 2024
  • Ooops! Common sense turns into double-cross. Trojan Horse December 14, 2023
  • Loophole Update – Common sense at last – Movement! December 7, 2023
  • Dancing with Alice at the Mad Hatter’s tea party – Loophole Bill farce November 29, 2023
  • Thank goodness for the independents! Loophole Bill is a huge PILL November 24, 2023
  • Loophole Bill – State of play November 20, 2023
  • You don’t save something by destroying it! November 13, 2023

Categories

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in