Australian Taxation Office - Definition and Overview

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the Australian government agency that collects taxes and enforces taxation legislation (except customs and external revenues, which are handled by the Australian Customs Service). The ATO also has some responsibility for Australia's longer term financial planning, shared with the Department of Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

It is primarily responsible for enforcing the following areas of legislation:

• Income Tax
• Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding
• Australian Business Numbers and Australian Business Register
• Goods and Services Tax
• Fringe Benefits Tax
• Higher Education Contributions Scheme
• Excise duty
• Environmental grants for the commercial use of alternative fuels
• Superannuation (including the superannuation guarantee, small superannuation accounts, ‘lost’ members, and self-managed superannuation funds)

The ATO is headed by the Commissioner of Taxation, who since January 1993 has been Michael Carmody.

External links

• Official Site (http://www.ato.gov.au)