Appendix 1: Terms of reference and conduct of the review

Terms of reference

A1.1 On 12 October 2007 the Inspector‑General announced the terms of reference for his review of the Tax Office's administration of public binding advice. The terms of reference for this review were as follows:

This review will examine the extent to which the Tax Office has met expectations by making its advice legally binding for a wider range of topics, while balancing appropriate risk management considerations with the aim of improving certainty. It will also examine the relationship between concepts such as 'general administrative practice', 'general guidance' and 'legally binding advice'.

Conduct of review

A1.2 The Inspector‑General advertised the review on his website, www.igt.gov.au, from 12 October 2007. The review was also reported in the press and in specialist accounting and legal publications.

A1.3 Written submissions to the review were taken from members of the public and a number of organisations.

A1.4 Members of the review team also met with members of the accounting and legal profession, with representatives of various professional bodies representing lawyers and accountants and with Treasury officers.

A1.5 During the review, all Tax Office rulings, determinations and practice statements which related to income tax issues and which were issued after 1 January 2006 were examined to determine the extent to which these documents replaced Tax Office material that was issued pre 1 January 2006. The review also examined a number of ATO interpretative decisions issued after this date for the same reason.

A1.6 The 1 January 2006 date was chosen was because this was the date on which the changes to the rulings law as a result of the Government's Review of Aspects of Income Tax Self Assessment (RoSA) came into effect.

A1.7 The Commissioner of Taxation was asked to provide information and documents relevant to the review. Visits were made to the Tax Office's National Office in Canberra to interview relevant Tax Office staff.

A1.8 The review also took into account a number of other inquiries relevant to this review.

Next: Appendix 2: Tax Office's response to the review
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