Wednesday, October 17, 2018

ATO Second Commissioner Neil Olesen on tax admin in the digital age

 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'" 

 
Tax office may take some solace in the fact that Matthew was a tax collector before he became a saint.
— Donald C. Alexander 


People want just taxes more than they want lower taxes. They want to know that every man is paying his proportionate share according to his wealth.
— Will Rogers 



As a cop, the IRS has to balance customer service and law enforcement. Stated another way, the agen- cy’s motto could be: ‘‘We’re your friend. But if you push that friendship too far, we’ll ruin your life and then throw you in jail.’’
— Christopher Bergin 



A remarkable and potentially far-reaching byproduct of America’s voluntary system of taxa- tion is a tax collector that actually aspires to be popular.

— J. Mark Iwry 


A management shake-up at the Australian Taxation Office after the retirement of second commissioner Neil Olesen will leave the top three positions filled by tax practitioners hailing from private sector advisory firms for the first time in the agency's history.
Mr Olesen's looming exit on November 30 after 35 years as a tax office insider was announced internally to ATO staff this week.
Former KPMG partner Jeremy Hirschhorn, who is currently responsible for enforcing tax compliance by large companies, will be elevated from ATO deputy commissioner to acting second commissioner.
He will join commissioner of taxation and former KPMG partner and policeman, Chris Jordan, and former Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills partner turned second commissioner, Andrew Mills, at the top of the ATO.
Australian Tax office shake-up puts private sector experts at the helm

ATO Second Commissioner Neil Olesen on tax admin in the digital age

 

Tax Administration in a Digital Age: The Australian experience - ATO


 


Neil Olesen: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg


Neil Olesen has been appointed as a full-time Second ... - Tax Technical 



Is insider Neil Olesen the ATO's new deputy commissioner? | afr.com 



An interview with Jeremy Hirschhorn, Deputy Commissioner - EY



Jeremy Hirschhorn | TP Minds Australia 2019 


New ATO scrutiny for corporates | Acuity

Google: Jeremy Hirschhorn




Some marathons will have to be run at sprint pace....




Overall, the complexity of the tax code leads to perverse results. On the one hand, taxpayers who honestly seek to comply with the law often make inadvertent errors, causing them to either overpay their tax or become subject to IRS enforcement action for mistaken underpayments. On the other hand, sophisticated taxpayers often find arcane provisions that enable them to reduce or eliminate their tax liabilities.