NO.097

APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION

The Treasurer announced today that the Government had appointed Mr Michael

D’Ascenzo as Commissioner of Taxation with effect from 1 January 2006.

Mr D’Ascenzo is currently one of three Second Commissioners of Taxation,

having been first appointed to that role in May 1998. He is the Chief Tax

Counsel and has extensive experience in revenue administration. Mr D’Ascenzo

is highly regarded as a leader within the Tax Office, in professional and business

circles and amongst his peers in overseas tax administrations.

Mr D’Ascenzo has an ongoing overall focus on the interpretation of tax

law and tax implementation processes, as well as corporate planning, finance

and governance functions issues. He chairs a number of internal committees and

is involved in numerous other high level Tax Office and external forums, including

the National Tax Liaison Group and the Tax Office/Treasury Tax Policy Coordination

Committee.

Mr D’Ascenzo has Bachelors of both Economics and Law from the Australian

National University and is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme

Court of the ACT. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program

for Management Development.

The current Commissioner of Taxation, Mr Michael Carmody, is to take up the

position of Chief Executive Officer of Customs with effect from 1 January 2006.

The Treasurer paid tribute to Mr Carmody’s long and distinguished career

within the Tax Office, including almost 13 years as Commissioner. In that role

he has modernised the approach of the Australian Taxation Office; led the ATO

in successfully implementing the largest reform of Australia’s tax system;

and, implemented a structured approach to compliance, including the publication

of annual compliance programs.

Under Mr Carmody’s leadership, the ATO has also been at the forefront

of the Government’s push to encourage the community to deal with Government

agencies electronically. The ATO is currently undertaking a major overhaul of

its IT systems which Mr Carmody initiated. Since tax reform, he has driven the

ATO’s program of making the tax system easier more personalised for the

community.

Internationally, Mr Carmody is highly regarded for his innovative approach

to tax administration and is recognised for his leadership amongst OECD tax

administrations.

CANBERRA

10 November 2005

Contact: Amanda Kennedy

02 6277 7340