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H&R Block has challenged the ATO’s intentions to further increase automation in tax reporting processes, warning that taxpayers may lose out.
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H&R Block rejects ATO automation proposal
28 September 2015
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As previously reported in AccountantsDaily, ATO second commissioner Geoff Leeper noted the possibility of Australia adopting a similar model to that in the UK, under which taxpayers are offered a standard deduction fee “no questions asked”.
H&R Block stated that the ATO’s push for automation “could only work if the deductions rules are changed so that the ability to claim work-related deductions is either dramatically scaled back or replaced with some form of standard deduction”.
“Millions of taxpayers could lose out as a result” if these changes were implemented, the firm said.
Mark Chapman, director of tax communications at H&R Block, noted that while the ATO has a duty to make reporting easy for taxpayers, the process has to be approached carefully.
“That can’t be at the expense of the legitimate ability of taxpayers to offset work-related expenditure they have incurred against their income,” he said.
Mr Chapman also made reference to other overseas models, noting the impact upon deductions in the tax reporting process.
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“Automation has proven overseas to work against the interests of many individual and business taxpayers who are entitled to claim deductions as part of their income producing activity,” he said.
H&R Block reiterated the firm’s submission to the federal government’s tax reform white paper, which argued for a loosening of rules regarding deductibility of self-education expenses, and for retaining the current ability of taxpayers to claim deductions for work-related expenses “on the grounds that such deductions are fair and in many cases essential to enabling employees to fulfill their duties at work”.
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