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ATO Executive ‘Not Guilty’– Credible evidence that ATO audits are ‘wrong’

Tuesday, February 19, 2019 

"Last week top ex-ATO official Michael Cranston was found not guilty of misusing his position to benefit his son... Mr Cranston’s evidence confirms what we have been saying for years—namely, that the ATO audit process, outcomes and appeals are systemically bad and flawed. Mr Cranston had to fix bad audits for high-wealth individuals...." More

Thank goodness. Morrison Government is DOING, rather than just promising, ATO reform

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Today the government announced that the Small Business Tax Tribunal will start up on the 1 March 2019—just two weeks away. This is huge. We continue to see bad ATO small business audits and an ATO incapable of quickly fixing glaring audit errors. It’s fabulous to see the government responding quickly and with a practical solution to start up immediately..... More

China and the ATO – Dictatorship vs the Rule of Law

Friday, February 1, 2019

Yes, we have focused heavily on seeking reform of the Australian Taxation Office in recent times. But the issue is not simply about tax revenue. It’s much bigger. It’s about the rule of law.... More



Labor takes bold move on unfair contracts

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Bill Shorten’s Labor has announced that it will make unfair contract terms illegal and impose major fines for breaches. This is a position that Self-Employed Australia totally endorses. ... More



More SEA News...

Global Self-Employment Updates
We monitor self-employment news from around the world. Full list here.

Big breakthrough in ATO treatment of small business people

Coalition government announces Small Business Tax Tribunal. This is a hugely important breakthrough

Key features:
  • Be totally separate from ATO.
  • Not involve lawyers.
  • Appoint a case manager to support the taxpayer.
  • Make decisions within 28 days of a hearing.
  • Require a payment of $500 from the taxpayer for each appeal.
And
  • If the ATO appeals the AAT decisions to the Federal Court, the ATO will pay the small businesses’ reasonable costs.
  • If there are test cases where lawyers are used, the ATO pays for the taxpayers’ lawyers.
Our commentary here.

ALP also looking to reform ATO
Our commentary here. Full story here. This includes history of our campaigning, submissions, case studies, etc.

Defend the right to be self-employed

Public sector bureaucracies along with unions are wanting to close down the right to be self-employed. We have seen these attacks before such as:

  • Contractors are ‘dependent’.
  • Sham contracting is rife.

See our responses on these arguments in 2011.  See our success at the International Labour Organisation in 2006.

And now the new attack is against the ‘gig economy’. We have new campaigns on our hands!

Self-employment challenges managerial orthodoxy

The supposed ‘rise’ of the ‘gig’ economy is causing much debate on whether its impacts are good or evil for society. But that debate is not new. In 2005, SEA's Executive Director, Ken Phillips, published his challenging book, Independence and the Death of Employment, in which he examined the fundamental changes that were occurring, even then, in the way we work and how notions about independence and the role of the commercial contract were fundamental to them. The Introduction to the book is available here. Recent arguments about the ‘gig’ economy have refired that debate.

Is your contract fair?

SEA can rightly claim huge success in achieving Unfair Contract protections for small business people. New protective legislation came into effect in November 2016—a world's first for self-employed people. Resources for checking your own contract are here.

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