(February 21, 2015) 

On February 19, 2015 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issued a news release in which it states that in some cases it has begun gathering current tax and deferred tax working papers that form the basis of tax notes within published financial statements of large businesses.

The ATO furthermore states that access to these working papers has allowed it to: 

• identify and act on potential issues early;

• obtain a greater level of assurance;

• better tailor the way it interacts with the taxpayers.

According to the ATO it has consulted with the Corporate Tax Association and a small number of key taxpayers who had initial concerns with this new process. The ATO also states that when “necessary”, it will request these working papers from some key large business taxpayers in a pre-lodgment compliance review (PCR).

The ATO furthermore states that reviewing and resolving potential risks prior to lodgment can result in reduced compliance costs and increased certainty for these taxpayers. According to the ATO, it will monitor this new process to ensure we are seeing these results.

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