• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Join Self-Employed Australia
  • Protected Members
    • Tax Audit Support
    • Unfair Contract Help
  • About US
    • Who We Are
    • SEA Board
    • Annual Reports
    • No Spam Policy
    • Content Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
  • Log in/Log out
  • Update your details

Self Employed Australia

"Everyone needs an Advocate"

“Everyone needs an Advocate”

  • Current Advocacy
    • Reforming the ATO
    • Small Business Tax Tribunal
    • 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?
  • Members-only Articles
    • About ICA
    • Contract Design and Templates
    • Independent Contractors Act
    • Practical Assistance
    • Taxation Matters
    • What is an Independent Contractor?
  • News Categories
  • NotAboveTheLaw

US Congress and Trump agree. Discipline the IRS to prevent taxpayer abuse. Message for Australia

July 12, 2019 by Self-Employed Australia

1 July 2019 proved an historic day for US taxpayers when President Trump signed into law the Taxpayers First Act.

The Act is intended to bring discipline to the US tax agency (IRS) after years of strong evidence of both its administrative incompetence and systemic abuse of taxpayers, particularly small business people.

The Bill passed Congress with support from all political parties.

There’s a massive lesson here for Australia. If we’re to be internationally competitive, we must bring justice and the rule of law to the way the Australian Taxation Office administers tax.

In Australia, particularly over the last 18 months, the evidence of ATO abuse of small business people has mounted and is overwhelming. See, particularly, the Four Corners program, ‘Mongrel Bunch of Bastards’.

The US Taxpayers First Act has specific provisions to protect small business owners from IRS seizures of their bank accounts. There is major evidence that the IRS has been wildly abusing its powers to seize bank accounts in cases where there was no evidence of small business taxpayers avoiding tax. The stories here strongly resemble those we see with the ATO garnisheeing bank accounts in Australia. Read the Small Business Ombudsman’s report on the ATO’s garnishee abuse.

Of the twelve-or-so measures in the US Taxpayers First Act, the following six are highly relevant to the sort of things we should be doing in Australia to reform the ATO.

  1. Greater Access to Independent Review: Guarantees taxpayer access to an independent appeal on an audit decision. Before an appeal the IRS must hand over to the taxpayer the taxpayer’s case file.
  2. Limited Seizure of Property: Property seizure limited to illegal cash transactions or concealing criminal activity. Post seizure and hearing requirements to protect taxpayers. (***Highly relevant to the ATO garnishee issue)
  3. Listening to the Taxpayer Advocate. The USA has an independent Taxpayer Advocate (NTA), a bit like the Australian Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT). The US law would grant the NTA significant new powers to give the IRS enforceable directives on taxpayer cases.
  4. Improved customer service: IRS required to adopt best practices of private sector customer-service providers.
  5. Easier Settlement Procedures: No fees by IRS if a settlement deal is done with the taxpayer.
  6. Earlier Notice of third-party questioning: The IRS must notify a taxpayer before it makes enquires of third parties about your tax (for example, a customer).
In 2018 we put together a position and discussion paper for a package of reforms of the ATO. Nothing in our reform package involves reducing the ATO’s powers to collect tax. It’s about ensuring checks and balances and the proper application of the rule of law to the ATO’s powers and behaviour. Since the federal election outcome we have started our advocacy campaign to make progress with ATO reform. We will release more on this over the coming weeks/months.

Filed Under: Campaigns, Reforming the ATO, Taxation, USA

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Is your superannuation money safe? Morrison v Albanese May 17, 2022
  • Morrison’s dead flat small business pitch May 11, 2022
  • Albanese plan to smash Australia’s 2 million self-employed May 5, 2022
  • Closing the construction watchdog will harm self-employed tradies April 24, 2022
  • ATO ramps up its aggressive campaign against small and family businesses April 14, 2022
  • Government gets massive tax windfall from Australians who have received no income. Bastards! April 8, 2022
  • For goodness’ sake stop wearing those same pyjamas at work! April 3, 2022
  • Update – Hotel Quarantine Prosecution – Supreme Court Victoria – A bit boring but important! March 21, 2022
  • Confronting bullies in our own (Australian) backyard – Unfair Contracts March 3, 2022
  • We lodge court action against WorkSafe Victoria. No-one should be above the law February 15, 2022

Categories

Footer

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in