Wickenby – Does the ATO hide behind spin?
Posted by John, November 12th, 2008 - under Tax.
The Australian Financial Review published a letter of mine today (12 November) on the Australian Tax Office and Wickenby, the multi-agency international tax evasion project the ATO leads. (“ATO hides behind the spin of Wickenby” AFR November 12 page 67.)
The letter refers to an article I wrote for the Public Sector Informant in the Canberra Times on 4 November called “Wickenby: Enough bang for buck?”. That article is available from the Canberra Times and I suggest anyone interested in the issue contact them for a copy. Their switch board number in Australia is 02 6280 2122.
In the AFR letter I drastically shortened my Canberra Times article to say that after over 4 years and around $200 million so far of taxpayers’ money being spent, 3 convictions for international tax evasion looked pretty light on. I called on the Commissioner to explain why there were so few results to date and why the instigator of Wickenby has not yet been charged.
I also suggested the ATO has a history of not taking international matters seriously.
The Canberra Times article gives a longer more thought out explanation of the issues.