Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the Australian government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws (except customs and external revenues, which are handled by the Australian Customs Service). The ATO also has some responsiblity for Australia's longer term financial planning, this responsibility is shared with the Department of the Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia.It is primarily responsible for enforcing the following areas of legislation:
- Income Tax
- Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding
- Australian Business Numbers and Australian Business Register
- Goods and Serivces Tax
- Fringe Benefits Tax
- Higher Education Contributions Scheme
- Excise duty
- Environmental grants for the commercial use of alternative fuels
- Superannuation (including the superannuation guarantee, small superannuation accounts, ‘lost’ members, and self-managed superannuation funds)