ATO to review processes around decision to cancel ex-PM's company's $950k tax bill
"We are following up to ensure all processes were correctly adhered to," the ATO said in a statement following Monday night's Four Corners program.
Four Corners revealed an abrupt about face from the tax office in 2015, which followed three years of negotiations and came after a formal payment notice for $953,000 was issued to Mr Keating's company.
The decision was unusual because, for most taxpayers, formally challenging such a ruling on a so-called general interest charge (GIC) would typically require them to contest the matter in the Federal Court.
"We note concerns raised in the segment about GIC remission for a high-profile taxpayer, which we take seriously," the ATO's statement said.
"Where concerns are raised, we aim to respond through appropriate channels, including internal review, independent oversight, and, where necessary, improvements to our systems and processes.
"The public rightfully expects the highest standards of integrity, fairness and accountability from us, and we take matters raised in the segment seriously."
Jason Harris, a professor of corporate law at Sydney University, said the decision to waive the interest and penalties charge had the potential to undermine public trust in the tax system.
"We have an example of someone very famous seemingly getting a special deal without any explanation and that should be a matter of public concern, even outside of tax," he said.
"If we had a former PM getting a waiver on a driver's licence fee we should be equally concerned. There should be transparency."
The tax debt was discovered in 2012 when the tax office realised that a company owned by Mr Keating had not reported profits from a 2004 share sale.
While the company, Brenlex Pty Ltd, later paid the $446,000, the ATO then demanded more than $600,000 in interest and penalties that had accrued in the eight years since the sale occurred.
The negotiations stretched over three years, during which time Mr Keating's advisers asked for the debt to be written off via a tax rule called a "commissioner's discretion".
Mr Keating's advisers sought the exemption because the former prime minister mistakenly believed Brenlex had paid the tax and had "inadvertently failed to advise his directors" of the sale, the advisers told the tax office.
Professor Harris said a commissioner's discretion was generally applied when a taxpayer had experienced some form of unfairness, such as bad advice from an accountant, or where there had been a significant event in their life, such as the death of a loved one.
He said the reason Mr Keating's advisers gave — that he had forgotten he had not complied — did not pass muster.
"It's outrageous," he said.
In April 2015, the ATO issued Mr Keating a statutory demand for payment of the bill, which by then had grown to $953,396.
Ten days after a final letter from Mr Keating's advisers, the tax office decided to cancel the debt in full.
"I am able to confirm that the GIC and Late Lodgement Penalties … have been remitted in full," a tax official wrote.
"Consequently the balance of the account has been reduced to nil and the amount payable as stated in the Creditors Statutory Demand is no longer owed."
The email provided no reasons for the tax office's abrupt about face after three years of resisting the arguments of Mr Keating's financial advisers.
The principal tax adviser at Australia's Institute of Public Accountants, Tony Greco, said the decision to waive Mr Keating's GIC appeared unusual on its face.
"From a normal perspective, forgetting to pay your tax wouldn't be a strong case for remission of the GIC," he said.
"More information needs to be provided to see whether they [the tax office] acted within their discretion."
Professor of taxation law at UNSW, Michael Walpole, cautioned that not enough was known about Mr Keating's matter to be able to draw any firm conclusion.
Speaking generally, he said it was desirable that, as long as they relied on the appropriate protocols, the tax office be able to reach settlements with taxpayers.
The ATO told Four Corners in a statement last week that "inadvertently overlooking" the need to pay tax was generally not valid grounds on which to cancel GIC.
"However, there may be instances where GIC is remitted when a taxpayer inadvertently overlooks the requirement to lodge a form or make a payment, depending on the individual circumstances of the taxpayer," the ATO said.
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