Commissioner of Taxation
NOTICE OF A DATA MATCHING PROGRAM
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire details of entities receiving taxable payments and grants from the Queensland State Government for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 financial years from various State Government departments and authorities.
These will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify non compliance with lodgment and payment obligations under taxation laws. Records matched under this program will exceed 5,000 individuals.
This program is titled the ‘Queensland State Government Payments and Grants (2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years) Data Matching Program’ and it enables the ATO to:
• identify and test the correct taxation reporting by recipients of government payments and grants across Queensland State Government departments and authorities; and
• identify areas that require improved educational and compliance strategies to encourage voluntary compliance for recipients of state government payments.
A document describing this program has been prepared and lodged with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A copy of this document is available by emailing SpecialPurposeDataSteward@ato.gov.au with reference to the Queensland State Government Payments and Grants data matching program.
The ATO complies with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines, The use of Data Matching in Commonwealth Administration, which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals.
Overview
The Queensland State Government Payments and Grants (2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years) Data Matching Program was introduced by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in 2014 to address issues of non-compliance with lodgment and payment obligations under taxation laws. The initiative was enacted to facilitate the matching of data from Queensland State Government departments and authorities with ATO data holdings, aiming to identify discrepancies and improve compliance strategies. The program targets over 5,000 individuals and is intended to ensure accurate taxation reporting by recipients of government payments and grants across various state government departments and authorities. This data matching program adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines, ensuring privacy protection and compliance with relevant standards.
Scope and Application
The Queensland State Government Payments and Grants Data Matching Program, as notified by the Commissioner of Taxation, applies to entities receiving taxable payments and grants from the Queensland State Government for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 financial years. This initiative involves the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) acquiring details from various state government departments and authorities to match against its data holdings, specifically to identify non-compliance with lodgment and payment obligations under taxation laws. This program targets over 5,000 individuals and is designed to enhance the accuracy of tax reporting by recipients of government payments and grants across Queensland State Government departments and authorities, as well as to identify areas that require improved educational and compliance strategies to encourage voluntary compliance. The ATO ensures adherence to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on the use of data matching in Commonwealth administration, which includes standards to safeguard the privacy of individuals. Further details about this program are available upon request from the ATO’s Special Purpose Data Steward.
Key Provisions
The primary operative sections of this legislation, specifically the Notice of a Data Matching Program issued by the Commissioner of Taxation (C2014G00567), pertain to the acquisition and matching of data from the Queensland State Government with the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) data holdings for the financial years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 (section 1). This program, titled the ‘Queensland State Government Payments and Grants (2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years) Data Matching Program’, is designed to identify and test the correct taxation reporting by recipients of government payments and grants, as well as to identify areas where educational and compliance strategies can be improved to encourage voluntary compliance (section 2). The ATO ensures compliance with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines, which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals (section 3).
The obligations and requirements imposed by this Act on the parties involved are primarily focused on data matching and compliance. The ATO is responsible for acquiring and matching data from Queensland State Government departments and authorities with its own data holdings (section 1). This matching process is intended to ensure that recipients of government payments and grants across Queensland are correctly reporting their taxation obligations. Additionally, the ATO must adhere to the privacy standards set by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to protect the privacy of individuals (section 3). Queensland State Government departments and authorities are required to provide the necessary data to the ATO for the specified financial years (section 1). This data is essential for the ATO to carry out its compliance testing and educational initiatives.
There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in the notice for breach of the data matching program. However, the primary aim of this program is to ensure compliance with taxation laws and to identify areas for improvement in educational and compliance strategies. Non-compliance with taxation reporting obligations could potentially lead to legal consequences under the general taxation laws. The notice does not specify maximum penalties for breaches of the data matching program itself but emphasises the importance of accurate reporting and voluntary compliance (section 2). The ATO's focus is on using the data matching program to encourage compliance rather than imposing penalties directly through this notice.