by taxvacancies.com, Thursday, 8th July 2010

Boeing enhances tax certainty under new agreement with Australian Tax Office

Boeing Australia has joined a growing number of large companies seeking certainty in their tax affairs by entering into an annual compliance arrangement (ACA) with the ATO.

The ACA relates to Boeing’s goods and services tax (GST) obligations.

Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo said under an ACA, companies can tell the ATO what they think their tax risks are and discuss how they have mitigated these risks.

“In return, we will give taxpayers a significant level of practical certainty,” Mr D’Ascenzo said.

“Taxpayers are able to manage their compliance with ‘no surprises’ if they have disclosed and discussed their areas of risk with us.

“They can also operate with little or no exposure to penalties or interest.”

Ian Thomas, President of Boeing Australia & South Pacific, said the arrangement reflects the strong commitment Boeing has towards high standards of compliance and ethical business conduct.

“Operating across both the aerospace and defence sectors presents us with unique challenges, and this arrangement will help both Boeing and the ATO resolve these in a practical and timely manner,” Mr Thomas said.

"In today's business environment, the cost of non compliance is growing both in commercial and legal terms. Anything we can do to reduce risk and uncertainty can only benefit our business.

“Actively engaging with the ATO through this arrangement helps build competitive advantage for Boeing.”

The agreement with Boeing is the eighth ACA which has been signed with the ATO.