Procedural Unfairness: Self-Incrimination Without Immunity in Tax Administration

Abstract

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for collecting the substantial revenue required to support Australia’s economic stability, support social service initiatives, and develop public infrastructure. To fulfil this mandate, the Commissioner of Taxation (the Commissioner) has wide-ranging duties and authority to administer, assess, and enforce tax obligations. The administrative nature of the Commissioner’s powers underpins a complex relationship between the government and taxpayers, necessitating a careful balance between administrative efficiency and the protection of taxpayer rights. Indeed, the efficacy of Australia’s self-assessment framework requires voluntary compliance, which can only be achieved when taxpayers perceive integrity in the taxation system. This article contends that one aspect of this balance, the treatment of compelled self-incriminating evidence in tax investigations, has tipped decisively against taxpayer protection, a claim developed across the analysis that follows.