This Strategic Working Group (SWG) session was held online on 10 September 2024.
Participation is available to those Digital service providers listed as SWG members for the 2024 year.
Key outcomes
Summary
ATO Corporate Plan
The ATO’s Corporate Plan 2024-25 was released on 13 August 2024 and is the first plan under the new Commissioner of Taxation, Rob Heferen. Key activities and focus areas were outlined, highlighting those of interest to DSPs.
An update on fraud measures and digital ID is scheduled for the October SWG meeting.
The Corporate plan aligns to the OECD’s tax administration 3.0 vision with some elements posing more challenges or requiring more time. The Small Business Future Tax Administration team is producing a discussion paper outlining their work to be published for feedback.
Emerging Tax Trends Around the World
Key statistics were provided to show how different tax administrations compare to Australia, which operates differently in several ways, including:
- Tax policy and administration roles are performed by different agencies
- Australia’s primary revenue source is income tax
- Tax secrecy obligation
- More restrictive regulatory frameworks surrounding tax advice.
The current focus areas for OECD are the two-pillar solution, tax administration 3.0 and tax capability building. GST/VAT gaps drive digitalisation in some jurisdictions.
An overview was given of B2B and B2C eInvoicing trends and how data can be captured and sent to revenue agencies in real time. Common challenges across tax administrations include identity, data quality, and payments.
Industry Perspective on the DSP Roadmap
To further assist with DSP planning, DSPANZ has produced a version of the ATO’s DSP roadmap with additional information to demonstrate impacts on DSPs and the give a confidence rating on the item proceeding.
The ATO is committed to annual tax time compliance changes for 2025/26 and the activity statement 2023 service remediation.
TFN and Personal Data Best Practice Guide
A TFN and Personal Data Best Practice Guide is being developed by DSPANZ. The guide is targeted at software providers without an API connection to the ATO and outside scope of the Operational Security Framework.
DSPANZ will have further conversations, including with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), and report back on the guidance progress.
Consumer Data Right
The Consumer Data Right (CDR) was discussed, including past and current challenges:
- Iterative approach taken by Government to rolling out an economy-wide CDR
- Implementation costs, uptake and use cases
- Consumer awareness and engagement
- Data quality and access.
A reset and consultation to streamline elements of the CDR was recently announced. The action initiation legislation was recently passed allowing consumers to take action utilising the insights provided by CDR data.
Sending Service Providers
The Sending Service Provider (SSP) model was created during the implementation of Single Touch Payroll (STP) and was included in the Operational Security Framework (OSF). There have been recent conversations about revising the SSP model noting that this process is well embedded in the ecosystem.
The ATO will consult on changes to the SSP model and authorisations, with assistance offered by DSPANZ.
Next meeting
The next meeting will be face-to-face on 23 October in Canberra.
If you have any questions, contact the secretariat by email at DPO@ato.gov.au or raise a ticket in the DSP service desk.
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