Although most of us will remember 2020 as a year of
enormous disruption and difficulties, it likely represents the
zenith of tax administration in Australia.
Driven by Treasury's JobKeeper and Cashflow Boost
programmes, the ATO pivoted in a way never seen before in an
organisation of over 20,000 employees. In a surprising, but
necessary, decision the Commonwealth government tasked the ATO with
supporting nearly one million businesses and three million
employees. In the first iteration of JobKeeper alone, the ATO
handed out nearly $9 billion in payments1. So
successful was the ATO's administration of this programme,
Treasury noted:
"Around 97 percent of claims have been paid to
employers within three business days of employers making the
employee declaration."
