A quick thread from the Australian Taxation Office annual report, which I’m sure everyone has been sweating on 1/ #auspol #estimates
In 2018-19 the ATO collected gross tax of about $533b, and provided refunds of about $107b, with net tax collections of $426b, up $29b or 7.4 per cent on the previous year. There were more than 10m individual income tax returns lodged, and nearly 8m refunds 2/
The ATO’s activities in 2018-19 3/ 
The tax avoidance taskforce raised $1.9b in liabilities and $1.1b in cash collections; the serious financial crime taskforce raised $235m in liabilities and $71m in cash; the black economy program raised $1.1b; and the phoenix taskforce raised $163m and $66m in cash 4/
On-time lodgement for income tax returns was 83.5 per cent, up 0.5 percentage points in the year. On-time for tax activity statements finished the year at 76.9 per cent, down 0.7 percentage points for 2017-18 5/
ATO compliance activities, included dreaded tax audits, drew $15.3b in extra revenue for government coffers. About $1 in voluntary disclosures were made in the year 6/
Some ATO staffing stats: women made up 44.9 per cent of the ATO’s senior ranks, up from 44.2 per cent a year earlier. Just 2.5 per cent of ATO staff identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. 7/
The ATO had an operating deficit of $3.3m in 2018-19, and an operating expense budget of $3.4b. They spent 53.7 per cent of the budget on labour, 10 per cent on consultants and contractors and 1.4 per cent on “tax administration services” with the Home Affairs Department 8/
ATO executive pay: Commissioner Chris Jordan $838,357; CFO Frances Cawthra $358,344; COO Jacqui Curtin $470,913; second commissioners x 4 $273k - $471k, chief service delivery officer Melinda Smith $430,739 9/
