Senate debates

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Questions on Notice

Australian Taxation Office: Accommodation (Question No. 1007

Photo of Mathias CormannMathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice, on 18 August 2011:

With reference to the Australian Taxation Office:

(1) What is the actual location, including the full street address, of each premises occupied by the Australian Taxation Office.

(2) In relation to each of the premises referred to in 1, are these premises:

(a) owned by the Commonwealth; or

(b) rented.

(3) What is the actual amount of space in square metres occupied by, or allocated to, the Australian Taxation Office at each of the premises.

(4) What is the actual amount of space in square metres occupied by, or allocated to, the Commonwealth Government at each of the premises.

(5) For each of the premises that are owned by the Commonwealth:

(a) what was the total purchase price of these premises and what was the purchase date;

(b) what amount has been allocated as building depreciation from the date of purchase to the current date; and

(c) what is the estimated current market value of these premises and on what basis has this market value been calculated or derived.

(6) For each of the premises that are rented, what are the current lease terms including:

(a) the date the lease was entered into;

(b) the current expiry date of the lease;

(c) any further options available under the lease;

(d) the rental amount payable per square metre on an annual basis; and

(e) the total rental amount payable for the premises on an annual basis.

(7) When is the next rental review due and on what basis will any new rental be determined.

Photo of Penny WongPenny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | | Hansard source

The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

The ATO has premises across Australia, with sites in all state capital cities. There is a significant presence in metropolitan and key regional centres. Smaller outpost sites are maintained to support the remote taxpaying community.

(1) A full list of ATO occupied premises is attached. See Attachment A (available from the Senate Table Office).

The ATO also has an agreement in place (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Department of Human Services to provide ATO services to the community from Department of Human Services premises. A list of these premises can be found at Attachment B (available from the Senate Table Office)..

(2) The ATO rents all of the property it occupies and does not own any property.

(3) The actual amount of space in square metres at each of the ATO premises is included at Attachment A.

(4) The ATO can only provide information regarding the amount of space occupied by the ATO.

Where the ATO and other Commonwealth agencies have leases in the same building, the ATO does not have the lease details of other Commonwealth agencies, as each agency enters into separate lease agreements with the lessor.

Two Commonwealth agencies sub-lease premises from the ATO:

      (5) The ATO does not own any property.

      (6) Current lease terms of each ATO premises are included at Attachment A.

      (7) Rental review dates and determination of any new rental rates are included at Attachment A.