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New ATO initiatives for small businesses

Editor:  In a recent speech, the Commissioner of Taxation, Chris Jordan, announced some new initiatives for small business.  The following are excerpts from his speech.

Red Tape

The Commissioner stated that the ATO was trying to reduce the amount of red tape because it understands "that meeting your obligations takes you away from your real business, and what you are good at."

He said that the ATO has to:

• provide more personalised, accessible and reliable services;
• think about the effects their activities have on cash flow, and the everyday running of small business; and
• work harder to ensure its information and advice is timely, streamlined, personalised, accurate and consistent.

New initiatives

To that end the ATO has introduced:

• Small Business Fix-it Squads which are rapid-design groups made up of small business operators and intermediaries, and representatives from federal, state and local government, all working together to examine problems and solutions from the perspective of small business.
  
• A new business-friendly approach to managing small business debt 
  He said that his message remains, "if you run a small business and you get into trouble, pick up the phone or go online and let us know, so we can work with you to find a solution that suits your circumstances."
• A new Small business newsroom on their website which is a move away from multiple newsletters, giving taxpayers a one-stop online shop where they get tax and superannuation news and alerts.
  As well as receiving the latest news, they will be able to watch short video clips, add tax dates to their own calendars to create reminders and share articles with each other.