(1)   Further to the answer to question No. 3016 (Hansard, 15 June 2004, page 29857), can he say why the Commissioner of Taxation’s Report for 2002-2003 did not explain why the ATO did not detect the members of the legal profession who were operating for many years outside of the taxation system.

(2)   Will he provide an explanation now; if not, why not.

(3)   Can he say why the Commissioner of Taxation’s Report for 2002-2003 did not explain why the ATO employed Mr Clarrie Stevens over a period of eight years during which he did not lodge an income tax return?

(4)   Will he provide an explanation now; if not, why not.

(1)   and (2)  The Commissioner of Taxation’s Annual Report for 2002-2003 focused on current activities designed to address non-compliance with tax laws within the legal profession.  The process of identifying those outside the tax system has become more sophisticated with the development of better data matching tools which in the past were not available to the ATO.

(3)   and (4) The Commissioner of Taxation’s Annual Report for 2002-2003 reported on the broad strategies and results of the ATO’s activities in relation to the legal profession.  Generally, the engagement of counsel for the ATO is done through the Australian Government Solicitor, and the ATO would have relied on the AGS’s vetting and selection processes.