End of Year - End of Era

The financial year has come to its end. After 49 years as a practicing tax accountant, I’ve handed in my ticket, coupled with the huge professional indemnity insurance premium that goes with it.

The most significant change I’ve observed over those years has been the willingness of ATO staff to conduct a conversation with agents and taxpayers alike.

Back in the seventies it was impossible to have an off the record conversation with anyone at the Tax Office unless it was started by an ATO Officer whose handbook for interviews derived its origins from the Spanish Inquisition.

What hasn’t changed over time, and this is a pity, is the widely held but thankfully not unanimous view that the Tax Office is occupied by members of an enemy force determined to grab you and you money.