Fed: ATO job cuts will benefit top end of town: union

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2001
Fed: ATO job cuts will benefit top end of town: union

MELBOURNE, Aug 31 AAP - The "top end of town" would benefit from the Australian Taxation
Office's move to shed thousands of jobs, a union representing workers said today.

Tax Commissioner Michael Carmody broke the news to the ATO's 19,132 employees yesterday
afternoon, warning them that 2,310 jobs had to go.

This includes 1,000 temporary staff hired in June last year who will finish today,
while 1,310 permanent positions would be terminated within the month.

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) tax section secretary Shane O'Connell said
the job losses raised serious issues of service and compliance for the Tax Office.

"We're particularly looking at the top end of town, where audit and compliance has
been a problem already," he said.

"You know the challenges the top end present to someone like the tax office; we're
completely under-resourced compared to the resources they possess."

Mr Carmody revealed 400 full-time jobs would go from NSW, 291 from Victoria, 200 from
the ACT, 209 from Queensland, 105 from Western Australia, 70 from South Australia and
35 from Tasmania.

And an ATO spokeswoman said last night no cuts would be made to the department's large
business or international sections.

But Mr O'Connell maintained the impact would be felt across the board.

Of the 27,000 pieces of information on suspected tax cheats supplied by the public
last year - known in the industry as "dob-ins" - only 800 had been finalised, he said.

AAP db/rs

KEYWORD: TAX JOBS DAYLEAD

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