The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Prof John McMillan, today announced the appointment of Damien Browne as his Special Tax Adviser.

Since 1995, the Commonwealth Ombudsman has also been Taxation Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman is independent, and is the only external complaint-handling agency for taxpayers with complaints about the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The Special Tax Adviser provides advice to the Ombudsman on complaints about the ATO and other issues in tax administration. The Ombudsman has received over 20,000 taxation complaints since 1995.

Prof McMillan said that in 2004-05 the Special Tax Adviser will particularly focus on how the ATO administers its debt collection programs and the advice the ATO provides to taxpayers.

Damien Browne joined the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 2000 and has been with the Ombudsman’s Tax Team since 2001. Mr Browne has a background in law and history. He replaces Philip Moss, who was recently appointed ACT Community and Health Services Complaints Commissioner.

Prof McMillan praised Mr Moss’s contributions to the work of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and stressed the continuing importance of the Taxation Ombudsman’s role in redressing the imbalance between the powers of the ATO and the rights of taxpayers.

Date of release: 26 October 2004