The Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) sets out our commitments to government and serves as the key accountability mechanism between the ATO and the Australian Government.
For 2014–15 we had one outcome delivered through 24 programs, including the ATO, ABR and 19 administered programs.
Figure 2.1 Our program structure
Program 1.1 Australian Taxation Office
This objective of the ATO is to administer aspects of Australia’s taxation and superannuation systems fairly by helping people do the right thing, by making it as easy as possible for taxpayers to comply, ensuring effective strategies are in place to deter, detect and deal with non-compliance, The objective of the Tax Practitioners Board is to ensure that tax agent services are provided to the public in accordance with appropriate The ABR undertakes work to enable streamlined The AVO ceased trading on 30 June 2014.
ATO OUTCOME STATEMENT
Confidence in the administration of aspects of Australia’s taxation and superannuation systems through helping people understand their rights and obligations, improving ease of compliance and access to benefits, and managing non‑compliance with the law.
Program 1.5 Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commissions The ACNC provides independent institutions for all Commonwealth purposes.
(See page 67)
Programs 1.6–1.24 1.6 Australian Screen Production Incentive 1.7 Cleaner Fuels Grant Scheme 1.10 Fuel Tax Credits Scheme
1.11 National Rental Affordability Scheme 1.12 Product Stewardship for Oil 1.13 Research and Development Tax Offset 1.14 Seafarer Tax Offset 1.15 Baby Bonus 1.16 Education Tax Refund 1.17 First Home Saver Account 1.18 Low Income Superannuation Contribution 1.19 Private health insurance Rebate 1.23 Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments of Tax 1.24 Bad and doubful Debts and Remissions (See pages 68–74)
In the table below we set out our performance against the deliverables and key performance indicators (KPIs) which are published in the PBS. These are used to monitor and assess our performance.
Table 2.1 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ATO, 2012–13 to 2014–15
Deliverable
2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Number of matters that have been consulted on
na na ✔ 68 matters consulted on and completed, and 53 matters in progress.
Number of customer service interactions delivered through the multi‑channel environment (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ Over 25.3 million services delivered through online services, the ATO app, inbound phone calls, interactive voice response (IVR) self-help calls, shopfront visits and inbound correspondence.
Number of registrations processed
✔ ✔ ✔ Around 1.5 million tax file number (TFN) and role registrations processed.
Number of taxpayers who meet their lodgment obligations
na na ✔ Overall, 87.8% of 2013–14 income tax returns and 90.8% of activity statements for 2014–15 have been lodged.
Number of returns, statements and forms processed
✔ ✔ ✔ Over 43 million returns, statements and forms processed, including 17.8 million income tax returns and around 18.6 million activity statements.
Number of interpretive guidance products, objections and rulings provided
✔ ✔ ✔ 8,300 private rulings, 26,200 objections and reviews, and almost 39,250 interpretive guidance products provided.
Number of payments processed
✔ ✔ ✔ Almost 23 million payments processed.
Value of net tax collected
na na ✔ $336.8 billion in net tax collected.
Number of refunds issued
✔ ✔ ✔ More than 11 million income tax refunds issued.
Table 2.1 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ATO, 2012–13 to 2014–15 continued
Deliverable
2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 Value of refunds paid
na na ✔ $95.5 billion in refunds paid.
Number of compliance audits, reviews and other checks undertaken
✔ ✔ ✔ 4.7 million compliance audits, reviews and other checks undertaken.
Value of compliance liabilities raised and collected as a result of compliance audits, reviews and other checks
✔ ✔ ✔ $13.5 billion in total liabilities raised and $9.6 billion estimated cash collected.
Value of debt resolved
na na ✔ $68.6 billion in debt resolved.
Number of disputed cases resolved
na na ✔ Over 26,000 objections, 1,000 settlements and 750 litigations resolved, 156 alternative dispute resolution processes and 14 independent reviews managed.
Number of lost and ATO‑held superannuation accounts
na ✔ ✔ Almost 6.2 million lost and ATO-held superannuation accounts.
Value of lost and ATO‑held superannuation accounts
na ✔ ✔ Around $16.2 billion in lost and ATO-held superannuation accounts.
Number of international information exchanges
✔ ✔ ✔ 519 exchanges of information (284 outgoing and 235 incoming), including specific, spontaneous and automatic exchanges of information.
Key performance indicator
Community and key stakeholder engagement and satisfaction with ATO performance (a) na na ✔ 76% of ATO clients and 70% of tax agents were satisfied with
the service they received.
Client satisfaction with independence of review and the service provided
na na ✔ Clients have told us they are satisfied with the independence of our reviews and the level of service provided, and found their dealings with us to be ‘fair and independent’.
Table 2.1 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ATO, 2012–13 to 2014–15 continued
Key performance indicator 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Proportion of draft legislation which is assured before introduction to Parliament
na na ✔ 43 pieces of legislation quality assured by the ATO and Treasury prior to introduction into Parliament.
Earlier resolution of disputed cases (a)
na na ✔ More than 26,000 objections completed, taking an average of 68 days to complete.
Proportion of individual tax file number (TFN) registrations compared to the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ Proportion of resident working age population (15–65 years) compared to total active TFN population is 126%.
Proportion of estimated resident population 15 years and over compared to total active TFN population is 101%.
Proportion of company tax file number (TFN) registrations compared to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) registered population (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ Proportion of ASIC registered company population compared to active company TFN registrations is 84.6%.
Note: We completed integrity and data cleansing across the company population in 2014–15 that has led to the reduction in company population numbers compared to 2013–14.
Proportion of taxpayers who lodge their income tax returns on time (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ Continued steady improvement in on-time lodgment over recent years, with 79.3% of returns lodged on time in 2009–10, rising to 82.2% for the 2013–14 income year (processed in 2014–15). Particular improvement in trust returns (up 10.2 percentage points to 81.6%) and partnership returns (up 11.8 percentage points to 84.7%).
Proportion of taxpayers who lodge their activity statements on time
✔ ✔ ✔ 78.5% of activity statements lodged on time.
Time–cost index for business and superannuation funds to prepare and complete key tax forms na ✔ ✔ There is continued variability in the index for superannuation funds, likely
reflecting fundamental changes occurring in the superannuation system.
The indexes of time taken for the tax system are stable – a possible reflection of the lack of significant change in the tax system.
Table 2.1 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ATO, 2012–13 to 2014–15 continued
Key performance indicator 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Adjusted average cost to individual taxpayers of managing their tax affairs(a)
na ✔ ✔ The adjusted average cost of managing tax affairs fell 3.5% for 2013–14 individual income tax returns (processed in 2014–15).
Proportion of liabilities paid on time by value for each of the major tax revenue types(a)
✔ ✔ ✔ 89.2% of liabilities paid on time by value.
Net cost to collect $100 (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ Cost to collect net $100 was $0.84 including GST collections and $0.77 excluding GST and its administration.
Ratio of collectable debt to net tax collections (a)
na na ✔ A 12-month rolling average of 5.7%, below the target of 6%.
Adjusted gross operating surplus compared to company profit and tax payable
✔ ✔ ✔ Company income tax payable (from company income tax returns) compared to adjusted gross operating surplus for the 2013–14 income year shows a maintenance of the ratio from recent years.
Goods and services tax (GST) gap as a proportion of GST revenue (a)
✔ ✔ ✔ 4.9%. The most recent data available is for the 2013–14 year.
Growth in salary and wages reported on income tax returns compared to growth in salary and wages estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
na ✘(b) ✔ The growth of salary and wages reported on 2013–14 income tax returns processed in 2014–15 is broadly consistent with the growth in salary and wages reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the 2013–14.
Adjusted employer superannuation contributions as a proportion of adjusted salary and wages na ✔ ✔ Total employer superannuation guarantee contributions as a proportion of total salary and wages was 9.79% against the base rate of 9.25 % for the 2013–14 income year, indicating high levels of voluntary compliance by employers.
Table 2.1 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ATO, 2012–13 to 2014–15 continued
Key performance indicator 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Proportion of self‑managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) contraventions compared to the number of fund lodgments
na na ✔ Around 2.5% of funds that lodged their returns in 2013–14 had contraventions reported.
✔= met ✘ = not met na = not applicable
(a) Covers performance against our key performance indicators from the ATO strategic intent, except for indicators relating to operating within budget and employee engagement compared to state of service.
(b) As part of the normal revision process of the ABS national account, the ABS now reports a materially lower growth rate for the 2012–13 income year compared to the ATO’s equivalent data.
Table 2.2 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ABR, 2012–13 to 2014–15
Deliverable
2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Increased use by business and government of a complete and single source of business information for planning and service delivery
na na ✔ Almost 517 million searches using ABN Lookup (an increase of 23.4%
increase on 2013–14), with approximately 379.8 million via authenticated businesses and government agencies. This includes over 4.4 million searches by individual businesses verifying the identity of trading partners through their business accounting packages.
Almost 1,800 downloads of ABR data from the online portal, and around 1,000 bulk data exchanges (an increase of 7.4%).
Broader adoption and use of consistent information exchange standards by business and government
na na ✔ Just over 550 SBR-enabled forms available for business to report to government (an increase of 6.5%).
Facilitating more streamlined online interactions between business and government, including a single business entry point
na na ✔ Almost 78% of business start-ups received their registration decision on the spot.
Around 7 million business-to-government transactions through SBR, almost twice as many as 2013–14.
Table 2.2 Program deliverables and key performance indicators – ABR, 2012–13 to 2014–15 continued
Key performance indicator 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Increased use of the national business dataset by government agencies and the community na na ✔ 54 datasets were provided to government agencies in response
to national emergencies (an increase of 116%).
Improvement in the quality of national business dataset
na na ✔ Around 1.2 million redundant ABNs removed from the ABR.
A 12% improvement in ABR data accuracy.
Approximately 3.8 million updates to information on the register.
Removal of 560,000 invalid industry (ANZSIC) codes.
Increase in the adoption and use of AUSkey by business
✔ ✔ ✔ Around 618,600 businesses with an active AUSkey (an increase of 24.1% on 2013–14), were used to authenticate government services almost 62.7 million times (an increase of 41.4%).
27 agencies accepting AUSkey for authentication (an increase of 12.5%), with 55 online services offered between them.
Increase in the number of businesses using SBR‑enabled software
na na ✔ Approximately 48,000 entities lodged reports for nearly 98,000 businesses using SBR-enabled software, an increase of 103% and 119% respectively.
Around 7 million business-to-government transactions through SBR, almost twice as many as 2013–14.
Increased use of the SBR common language and standards
na ✔ ✔ 64 software providers have SBR-enabled products available (18.5% increase), with up to 90% of the business community being clients of these companies.
More than 220 software developers (32% increase) are developing SBR products.
Reduction in administrative costs to business
na na ✔ With more business start-ups receiving on-the-spot registration, this resulted in $30.6 million in ongoing savings to business and
$17.2 million in ongoing savings to government.