From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the principal revenue collection agency for the Australian Government, collecting around 92% of revenue at the federal government level.^[1]

It is responsible for administering the following areas of legislation:

• income tax
• pay as you go withholding and instalments
• the Australian Business Number and Australian Business Register
• goods and services tax
• fringe benefits tax
• higher education funding under the Higher Education Loan Programme (formerly the Higher Education Contributions Scheme)
• excise duty
• grants and schemes in relation to diesel and alternative fuels
• superannuation (including the superannuation guarantee, small superannuation accounts, ‘lost’ members, and self-managed superannuation funds)^[1]

The ATO is headed by the Commissioner of Taxation, Michael D'Ascenzo (appointed January 2006). The previous Commissioner was Michael Carmody. The Second Commissioners are Jennie Granger, Second Commissioner (Compliance), Greg Farr, Second Commissioner (I.T.), and Bruce Quigley, Second Commissioner (Law).

Each of the business areas within the ATO (known as business and service lines) are headed by a Senior Executive Service (SES) Band 2 officer, usually described as a Deputy Commissioner (for core business lines such as excise or superannuation) or First Assistant Commissioner (for internal service lines such as those dealing with human resources).

Under this level are a number of SES Band 1 officers titled Assistant Commissioners, and thereunder, approximately 22,000 staff generally titled Taxation Officers performing various tasks including operational and compliance activities.

• Taxation in Australia

1. ^ ^{a b} Australian Taxation Office - Who are we?. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.

• Official Website