PM Transcripts

PRIME MINISTER 47/ 92
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON. P. 3. KEATING, MP
ACCESS TO TAX INFORMATION FOR ROYAL COMMISSIONS
As I made clear yesterday the Commonwealth has always been
prepared to make relevant taxation information available to
the WA Royal Commission.
However, I remain strongly of the view that such access
should be limited to relevant information of a specific
nature and not constitute a broad " fishing licence" approach
in order to protect the right to privacy of Australians.
It has been the consistent view of the Commonwealth and the
Commissioner of Taxation that there is a mechanism by which
relevant tax information can be obtained by the Royal
Commission under Section 3E of the Tax Administration Act.
The Royal Commission appears not to accept the Taxation
Commissioner's interpretation of that Act.
To put beyond doubt the Commonwealth's preparedness to
assist the Royal Commission in seeking relevant tax
information the Commonwealth will propose an amendment to
Section 3E, nominating Royal Commissions as agencies which
can seek such information.
This would give Royal Commissions the same authority to seek
tax information that is available to law enforcement
agencies specified under the Act.
To this end, I have asked the Treasurer, Mr Dawkins, and the
Taxation Commissioner, Mr Trevor Boucher, to consult the WA
Royal Commission as soon as is practicable on how best to
structure the amendment to Section 3E.
I trust this will satisfy the Commission's need for access
to relevant tax information.
Further, I seek the support of the Opposition to allow a
speedy passage of the proposed amendment.
CANBERRA May 15, 1992