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Yes, well it’s pretty obvious that the political system is in chaos. But despite the turmoil we thought we’d give you some updates on a few more sane things (from our perspective) that are coming through.

Free legal advice in ATO disputes
The Labor opposition is talking of funding free legal advice on tax matters to low-income taxpayers if they win government. It’s further recognition by Labor of the unequal power relationship between small business people and the ATO.  More...

You may have seen the big ‘win’ by the ATO against BHP which has agreed to pay an extra $529 million in tax. In a statement an ATO spokesperson said: “I want to assure the Australian community the ATO does not settle matters at any cost or give favourable settlements to the large end of town.” Ummm? Let’s look at the evidence. More...

The ABC reports that a Federal anti-corruption commission is looking increasingly likely. This five-minute ABC television clip explains that:

• Federal Labor has a policy to introduce a National Integrity Commission to investigate possible corruption within the Federal Government.
• The Senate has been conducting an inquiry into an anti-corruption commission.
• Last week the Senate passed a motion calling for a debate on the issue.

and

• The Federal government is apparently considering an anti-corruption commission.

But here’s a question. Will an anti-corruption commission be able to investigate the Australian Taxation Office? Would the ATO fight hard to be excluded? More...

In an article in The Australian today ('When the Taxman proves to be a monster)'  we argue that the prosecution powers of the Australian Taxation Office should be removed from the ATO and transferred to an independent body under the Attorney-General’s department.

We give examples of the ATO’s alleged abusive behaviour in litigation to demonstrate why the ATO should not be investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury all in one. This is the current situation.  More...

Today we give a very big thanks to Ali Noroozi who is retiring this month after ten years as the Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT).

Eager followers and members of Self-Employed Australia will be well aware of our extensive and ongoing campaigns to extract fairness from the Australian Taxation Office.

But not many people (outside the public service) are likely aware of the extent to which the office of the Inspector-General of Taxation has been extracting measures of fairness from the ATO. More...

It was an interesting week last week when witnessing the contrasting faces of the Australian Taxation Office displayed before various Parliamentary Committees.

On Wednesday (24 October) the ATO appeared before Senate Estimates.  The Tax Commissioner said this:  More...

This year we have been highlighting the unfair treatment of self-employed people by the ATO. We’ve been doing a lot of work talking to politicians from all parties, senior public servants and the media. Self-Employed Australia continues to support and assist those who are under ATO attack.

Now we need your help. More...

I was in an Uber the other day and got talking to my driver. He was a Sikh. We had quite a conversation about his religion and the importance of it to his everyday life. I’ve never met a Sikh before! He was most interesting. I asked him why he drives Uber. His response was quick. He loves being his own boss. He can make his work fit around his family commitments.

My Sikh driver reminded me of why we at Self-Employed Australia have been doing what we do for almost 20 years. We’ve been defending the right of people to be self-employed. We’ve seen attacks from many directions. The attackers always seem to argue that somehow ‘we’ are being exploited. They can’t seem to contemplate that in self-employment there is economic liberty and freedom! My Sikh driver knows and lives that reality.  More...

If you’re not happy with your treatment by the ATO, you have a chance to put your story on the record. But you need to be quick. We’ve just become aware that the Parliamentary Committee that most closely reviews the ATO is calling for last-minute stories from people about their treatment by the ATO. Self-Employed Australia will be putting in a submission. More...

It’s a shock to find that what could be viewed as arguably the greatest tax scandal in Australia’s history was organised by the Australian Taxation Office. The tax revenue loss from high-wealth individuals who should have paid tax is likely in the order of $2 billion, perhaps even more.

The tax losses relate to an ATO tax amnesty called Project Do It which gave massive tax advantages to Australian high-wealth individuals who had hidden $6.5 billion in secret overseas (mostly Swiss) bank accounts. They were tax evaders who were about to be caught.  More...