iscover CPA pushes for expansion of ATO self-service options
BusinessThe professional body is calling for the government to fund improvements to ATO systems following ongoing frustrations by tax agents.
CPA Australia has urged the government to increase funding for ATO systems to expand self-service options, create a single source of truth, modernise partnership administration systems and expand pre-filing of BASs.
In its pre-budget submission, the professional body said the ATO needs to expand and harmonise self-service options such as payment plans, deferrals and lodgment corrections into a single interface for both clients and agents.
Implementing consistent rules and reducing the need for interactions with the ATO by phone would ease the administrative burden for tax professionals, the professional body said.
Tax agents and professional bodies have previously raised concerns regarding some limitations with Online Services for Agents, particularly in relation to taxable payments annual reports (TPARs) and fringe benefits tax.
The submission noted that tax agents are still unable to access reliable client lists from the ATO for TPAR and FBT lodgments.
"Lists are currently emailed to tax agents as a PDF and are often incomplete, with agents only discovering missing clients when overdue notices arrive," CPA Australia said.
"The ATO advise agents to check OSfA for each client to determine reporting and lodgment obligations – this is inefficient."
CPA Australia said it would also like to see the process for registering and deregistering fuel tax credits and fringe benefits tax improved.
"Currently, registering and deregistering for FBT and Fuel Tax Credits must be done over the phone, while registration for GST and PAYG withholding can be managed via Online Services for Agents (OSfA)," it said.
CA ANZ previously told the Tax Ombudsman that improving accessibility, usefulness and ease of use for OSFA would also ease demand on the registered age phone line.
Susan Franks, Australian leader of tax, superannuation and financial services at CA ANZ, said while OSFA is the preferred tool for CA ANZ's members, a range of limitations within the platform was forcing registered agents to use the ATO phone line instead.
"Our members prefer to use OSFA, as, unlike the ATO phone line, it does not have wait times and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Franks said.
"However, due to the limitations in OSFA, such as an inability to access FBT returns, insufficient detail on the status of tax returns and an inability to have a 2-way conversation with an ATO officer at a time convenient to both the tax agent and the ATO officer, our members resort to using the ATO phone line."
CPA Australia also urged the government to establish a single tax collector and a unified digital platform.
The submission said that state and territory revenue offices should be consolidated into the ATO to create one tax administrator for all federal and state tax obligations.
"This would reduce duplication of systems, staffing, and technology across nine jurisdictions and provide taxpayers with a consistent, holistic experience and more coherent risk management," it said.
"This would also significantly reduce tax collection costs for state governments. Revenue collected would be distributed to the right state, less any administrative costs."
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the editor of Accountants Daily and Accounting Times, the leading sources of news, insight, and educational content for professionals in the accounting sector.
Miranda has over a decade of experience reporting on the financial services and accounting sectors, working on a range of publications including SMSF Adviser, Investor Daily and ifa.
