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The 2018 replacement of the current tax and BAS agent portals has been met with cautious optimism from the Institute of Public Accountants, to ensure stability is prioritised over meeting set deadlines.
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‘Don’t mess people around’: New portal release comes with warning
07 December 2017
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About a year past its original plans, the tax office looks set to release its new portals mid to late next year. From next week onwards, around half of the current tax and BAS agent portal functions will be available for private beta participants. The tax office plans for the remaining functions to be released in the beta during April next year.
The IPA’s general manager — technical policy Tony Greco said he’d prefer ongoing development to replacing the current “dinosaur” with services that aren’t 100 per cent ready to go and fit for purpose.
“Get it right ATO, and make sure it doesn’t set people backwards,” he told The Bookkeeper.
“They would rather continue with the clunky old system if stability is assured, rather than moving to something which is not reliable,” he said.
Tax and BAS agents “aren’t asking for much and don’t expect anything fancy,” he added, with reliability being their central priority.
The new portals are significantly more user friendly, and have been so far well received.
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“It’s a much more modern version of what tax and BAS agents are working with today,” Mr Greco said. “They have worked really hard to do some fancy footwork in the digital technology world.”
“With the current system, it’s not very friendly. If someone in their 20s went on there today for the first time, they’d have trouble understanding why it was put together this way,” he said.
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