Impersonating a Trustee
Phillip Sweeney made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Taxation Office
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Australian Taxation Office,
I am writing to lodge a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
There is currently over $1 Trillion held by Trustees of Government Regulated Superannuation trusts.
A person whether a natural person or legal person who intermeddles with affairs of a trustee is referred to as a Trustee de son tort.
Trustees have to lodge tax returns with the ATO for each fund with an ABN under the control of the Trustee.
The documents I seek are any documents that the ATO would use to determine the bona fides of a party who represents themselves as a "Trustee" of a particular fund.
The purported "trustee" may not be the lawfully appointed trustee at all.
The documents might fall into the category of a "Practice Manual".
Furthermore the "purported" cancellation of an ABN could be any easy tax avoidance scam.
I am therefore also seeking documents held by the ATO of what "due diligence" would be undertaken by the ATO when a notification has been received that an ABN has been or is to be cancelled.
The documents might fall into the category of a "Practice Manual" or a similar document.
Can you please confirm confirmation of the receipt of this FOI Request.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Sweeney
Dear Mr Sweeney,
Thank you for your email to the FOI mailbox. We will consider your request and respond as soon as possible. FOI requests are required to be processed within 30 days from the date we receive an application. While we aim to achieve this timeframe, certain requests that are large or involve complex issues may take longer. If this is the case we will contact you to discuss when the material can be made available. Further, unless your request is for personal information, charges may apply depending on the size and complexity of your case. We will notify you if there are charges and what those charges will be. We will obtain your consent to any additional charges before processing the request.
Regards,
FOI | General Counsel
Australian Taxation Office
ATO | Working for all Australians
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Sweeney [mailto:[FOI #856 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 8 January 2015 6:21 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Impersonating a Trustee
Dear Australian Taxation Office,
I am writing to lodge a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
There is currently over $1 Trillion held by Trustees of Government Regulated Superannuation trusts.
A person whether a natural person or legal person who intermeddles with affairs of a trustee is referred to as a Trustee de son tort.
Trustees have to lodge tax returns with the ATO for each fund with an ABN under the control of the Trustee.
The documents I seek are any documents that the ATO would use to determine the bona fides of a party who represents themselves as a "Trustee" of a particular fund.
The purported "trustee" may not be the lawfully appointed trustee at all.
The documents might fall into the category of a "Practice Manual".
Furthermore the "purported" cancellation of an ABN could be any easy tax avoidance scam.
I am therefore also seeking documents held by the ATO of what "due diligence" would be undertaken by the ATO when a notification has been received that an ABN has been or is to be cancelled.
The documents might fall into the category of a "Practice Manual" or a similar document.
Can you please confirm confirmation of the receipt of this FOI Request.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Sweeney
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dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in
reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other
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Dear Mr Sweeney,
I refer to your FOI request for documents used to determine the bona fides of a trustee and due diligence undertaken by the ATO when notified of an ABN cancellation. This matter is currently due for completion by 7 February 2015. We are unlikely to meet this deadline and ask if you would agree to a 30 day extension for us to complete this matter. We will continue to process your request and will provide a response as soon as possible. Please let me know by return email if you agree to this extension.
Regards,
Julie Galeotti
Senior Legal Officer
General Counsel
Australian Taxation Office
Phone: 03 9285 1810 | Facsimile: 03 9285 1702
Email [email address]
ATO | Working for all Australians
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
The information transmitted is for the use of the intended
recipient only and may contain confidential and/or legally
privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in
reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other
than the intended recipient is prohibited and may result in
severe penalties. If you have received this e-mail in error
please notify the Privacy Hotline of the Australian Taxation
Office, telephone 1300 661 542 and delete all copies of this
transmission together with any attachments.
**********************************************************************
Dear Galeotti, Julie,
I agree to your request for an extension since it is an important matter that I have raised and the ATO should have sufficient time to properly respond.
The purported cancellation of the ABN of superfund with hundreds of million in assets is not a trivial matter and should be supported with appropriate supporting documentation.
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Sweeney
Phillip Sweeney left an annotation ()
Dear Locutus Sum
Thank you for your advice on my options should the ATO not believe my FOI request is sufficiently clear.
The ABN of my superannuation Fund has been cancelled by someone who was not lawfully appointed to be the Trustees of this fund in accordance with the terms of the superannuation trust as properly construed.
The ATO should have some guidelines to prevent this from happening.
Regards
Phillip Sweeney
Dear Mr Sweeney,
Please find enclosed my decision regarding your FOI request for documents used to determine the bona fides of a trustee and due diligence undertaken regarding cancellation of an ABN. Edited document are also attached.
Regards,
Julie Galeotti
Senior Legal Officer
General Counsel
Australian Taxation Office
Phone: 03 9285 1810 | Facsimile: 03 9285 1702
Email [email address]
ATO | Working for all Australians
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT
The information transmitted is for the use of the intended
recipient only and may contain confidential and/or legally
privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in
reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other
than the intended recipient is prohibited and may result in
severe penalties. If you have received this e-mail in error
please notify the Privacy Hotline of the Australian Taxation
Office, telephone 1300 661 542 and delete all copies of this
transmission together with any attachments.
**********************************************************************
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
It will not be a surprise if the Taxation Office must ask for a restriction of the range or scope of the request. The current manner of the address probably requires the ATO to do research to think of all the manners in which the request could be satisfied. Therefore the ATO might eventually reply to say that the request is refused for a "practical refusal reason" (s 24AB of the Act) or because it is not a valid request under section 15 because it does not sufficiently identify a document as it is required in section 15(2)(b).
If the ATO make a refusal of the request on the ground of a practical refusal reason, then the applicant is given time to consult withe the department to simplify or limit the request.