Improve tax agent portal communications

The SMSF Association has requested the ATO make changes to its Online Service for Agents (OSFA), including greater transparency around lodged documents and better communications with tax agents when the regulator is contacting their clients.

The call for changes was made as part of a submission to the Tax Ombudsman’s review of the OSFA, which stated the service was the preferred method of communication for SMSF Association members, but it needed improvements in comparison to other services they use.

“As digital solutions for practitioners are advancing, greater reliance is placed on these services for efficiency gains given current human resourcing limitations. Currently, many elements of the OSFA create a drag on resources and time, counter to its intent,” the professional body stated.

The submission called for a tracking system to be added to any lodged documents, including private binding ruling applications, with indicative wait times for an ATO response so tax agents can keep clients updated and reduce follow-up calls with the regulator.

“Currently, tax agents do not have visibility of forms lodged or submitted via OSFA or an ability to confirm lodgement completion later,” it said.

“The only way to obtain a record is to print a copy of the form when preparing to submit and a receipt must be generated and printed at the time of processing.

“Otherwise, the tax agent has no record of the lodgement and no ability to go back and view what has been lodged. The ability to recall this information is seen as essential and a weakness of the current system.”

In regards to private binding ruling applications, the submission noted there was no way to track these at all and “the only method of follow-up is persistent phone calls to the ATO, as any follow-up correspondence is often not responded to”.

The ATO was also requested to expand its Practice Mail secure message channel to include email alerts to tax agents, rather than requiring them to check the service each day, and to flag any correspondence that might be sent to clients of an agent.

“Currently, practitioners need to regularly log-in into OSFA and check to see if any mail has been received from the ATO. To fully deliver on the efficiency of this method of delivery, the system needs to have the ability for agents to receive an email alert each time mail is delivered to the practice inbox,” the submission said.

“A simple email alert to a nominated email address, or addresses, to check their inbox would be beneficial and greatly assist practitioners.

“Other inconsistencies arise where correspondence is sent directly to the taxpayer and a copy has not also been provided to the registered tax agent,” the association added, pointing out clients expect their tax agents to have access to ATO correspondence and often to administer and respond to it.

“Where correspondence is sent to the taxpayer directly, a copy should also be sent to the registered tax agent. This will ensure timely responses, enable tax agents to assist their clients and ensure that the client is aware of any ATO correspondence.”