Government passes ATO commissioner remedial powers
The government has passed a bill establishing remedial powers for the Commissioner of Taxation, which it says will help resolve unintended consequences arising from tax and superannuation laws.
Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer says the government has passed Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 2) Bill 2016.
This bill establishes a “remedial power for the Commissioner of Taxation to allow for a more timely resolution of certain unforeseen or unintended outcomes in the taxation and superannuation laws,” she said in a statement last week.
Ms O’Dwyer said it takes a number of minor amendments across the tax and superannuation laws to provide certainty for taxpayers.
“These changes to various tax laws reduce red tape for individuals, businesses and community organisations,” she said.
Former assistant treasurer Josh Frydenberg first announced the government would provide the Commissioner of Taxation with a statutory remedial power in 2015.
At the time of the announcement, Mr Frydenberg said the remedial power “provides a mechanism to deal with some aspects of complexity in the tax law, and provides more certainty and better outcomes for taxpayers.”
