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.