The Tax Office has written to 3,122 trustees of self managed super funds offering them a new tax file number (TFN) for their funds.
The funds’ existing tax file numbers were on a CD of scanned letters being sent to the Tax Office via an authorised (door to door) courier from the company contracted to print the letters. The courier received the CD but it was not delivered to the Tax Office and has gone missing.
Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo said he wanted to assure the community the Tax Office takes the privacy of their personal details very seriously.
“Nothing is more important to the community and fundamental to good tax administration than the security of taxpayer information,†Mr D’Ascenzo said.
“I am concerned that this parcel containing taxpayer information has failed to be delivered, even though the courier believes the parcel is still within their warehouse facilities.
“While there is no evidence the information has fallen into the wrong hands or been misused, I am taking the matter seriously.
“As there is a risk the information could be misused if the courier is unable to locate the CD, we are providing the relevant trustees the opportunity to ensure that there is no unauthorised use of their funds’ relevant tax records.