Media Release: Improvement in non-lodgement of individual tax return numbers announced at HLB Mann Judd Practising Accountants Forum

The release of a Report into non-lodgement numbers for income tax returns was announced by Mr Ali Noroozi, the Inspector-General of Taxation at the HLB Mann Judd Practising Accountants Forum which concluded yesterday. The IGT Report provides a snapshot of how many taxpayers who should lodge a return, do not, together with an indicator of revenue costs of non-lodgement.

 

Presenting at the Forum Mr Noroozi announced Report findings into the non-lodgement of individual income tax returns completed in June this year. He said the IGT had found a large number of non-lodged income tax returns had accumulated potentially involving significant amounts of revenue.

 

“The Review was undertaken in order to make an informed judgement on the matter, as having a sound indication of the number of taxpayers who should lodge a tax return but do not is important both for the ATO and the community,” said Mr Noroozi.

 

He said key Report findings included:

However, Mr Noroozi said the ATO had recently improved non-lodgement statistics following the 30 June tax bonus payment period.

 

“The IGT applauds the ATO’s efforts in reducing the level of non-lodgement by individual tax payers,” he said. “Future ATO monitoring should be maintained to determine whether this is a one-off or an ongoing improvement.”

 

Mr Noroozi made the point that while the figures may draw some concern, they do not represent a high risk to Government revenue or the integrity of the system.

 

“A level of non-lodgement is to be expected in a tax system that is based on self-assessment and risk management approaches. Overall, I am of the view that the ATO is monitoring the non-lodgement of income tax returns well,” he said.

 

“It is notable that the recent tax bonus payment period seems to have had the outcome of reducing the number of non-lodgements in Australia, which is positive,” said Mark Pizzacalla, Partner in Charge of Taxation at HLB Mann Judd. “What the Report findings reflect is the heightened awareness levels in the ATO and the community about lodgement of income tax returns as a general issue. Non-lodgement represents a cost to the system and thus to the tax-payers themselves.”

 

Mr Pizzacalla said that taxpayers needed to be aware of their responsibilities, particularly as the ATO improved its risk management systems within the self-assessment regime.