ATO Commissioner referring to some staff as "Village Idiots"?
Dear Commissioner of Taxation
I'm advised in a recent speach you gave to the Tax Institute you referred to some A.T.O. employees as "Village Idiots".
I request the following documents if such documents exist:
1. A transcript of your whole speach
2. Any complaints put to you in relation to your comment
3. Any discussions on the topic on internal staff discussion boards
4. Any other documents held by the A.T.O. on the matter
Yours faithfully,
D Conway
Dear Commissioner of Taxation,
I do apologize most sincerely but your response just doesn't cut the mustard.
I respectfully request an internal review.
Be sure to include the following Yammer comments I can confirm have been made by ATO employees in response to your "village idiot" remark:
"So the Commissioner is saying some of us are idiots? Who is the one suing the ATO for information in regards to his comments about a taxpayer??????"
"I'm actually quite insulted the Commissioner would say something like that, especially when he claims he defends us at every opportunity (which one does he think he is, by the way?)" [A professor or a village idiot]
"Bruce Quigley was a top bloke, and he MAY have said that to [Chris Jordan], but its not the sort of thing I would share with the wider public, especially an auditorium full of tax agents / accountants as they would all be thinking the one ATO officer they are currently in dispute with IS that lower classification [a village idiot] in the scale!!"
"So as far as the Commissioner is concerned he's the leading hand of a village of idiots. Great. I feel really special now. I'm not a very impressed village idiot."
"I was disappointed with the Commissioner's remark. As we've seen here [on Yammer], some may wonder if they are considered a 'village idiot' by the Commissioner'. It's not something that any Agency Head ought to say about any of their employees, even if they believe it is true. Commissioner, I request you publicly retract your statement and issue an apology".
Yours sincerely,
D Conway
~It's only the beginning