The ATO earlier this month released its new document,
"Building confidence". This is a shift from previous
years, where its predecessor document was referred to more blandly
as its Compliance Program.
The document sets out the ATO's approach to managing
compliance within the tax system and, in line with the new name,
how it can better work with businesses and other taxpayers to
create confidence in the system.
The Commissioner goes to great lengths to stress that the
majority of taxpayers willingly meet their obligations and for
those, the ATO's aim is to intervene as little as possible and,
where practical, reduce the compliance burden.
However, he also notes the need to strike a balance between
encouragement and enforcement based on risk, transparency of the
taxpayer and the taxpayer's behaviour when it comes to tax
compliance.
