e-Tax Is Officially Dead, As ATO Announces Permanent Switch To myTax

Typical of the ATO to finally make e-Tax available to Mac users, only to unceremoniously kill the whole thing off shortly thereafter.

With the much dreaded/looked forward to (depending on how good your return is) tax time a mere matter of weeks away…
…it’s time for those of you who exist without the need to shell out for some fancy-ass big-city accountant to start getting your tax return biz all sorted.
Since 1999, this has meant downloading the update of the ATO‘s dinosaur-like e-Tax program and fanging all your vital details into it.
This year, however, things are a bit different.
The Government’s taxation overlords have finally put the knife into the heart of the ageing beast and laid e-Tax to rest once and for all. The agency today announced that the program will be officially retired, and replaced full-time with their browser-based myTax system instead.
The ATO has been slowly rolling out myTax since it was first introduced in 2014, and the newest build of the web forms fully integrates all the vital functions of the old e-Tax whilst allowing taxpayers to lodge their returns in what the ATO claims is “a fraction of the time.”
ATO Assistant Commissioner Graham Whyte issued a statement earlier today confirming the overdue demise of e-Tax.

“In 2016, myTax has been expanded to do everything e-tax could do and more and will be available on 1 July 2016.”


“For example, not only will Australians with rental properties be able to use myTax this year, but they will also be able to take advantage of the fully integrated tools and calculators. One of these new tools allows property investors to record depreciation and capital gains.”

“Over the past few years we’ve been seeing around three million Australians prepare their own tax return using either myTax or e-tax, so we’re hoping to see three million myTax lodgments in 2016.”

“We understand sometimes it can be hard to change habits, especially for those who have been using e-tax since its launch in 1999. What we would say to those who are a bit unsure about myTax is to give it a go: you’ll probably have your tax return lodged in a fraction of the time.”

You’ll be able to get all around the new system from July 1st, over at the ATO’s lodge online page. Best of all, it’s apparently formatted to be accessed on tablets and smartphones as well, should you feel the need to drop a tax return whilst dropping a tax return if you catch my drift.

‘Course the option is also open for you to hit up a tax agent or accountant, which around 74% of Australians do.
It’s the golden months of the year for the accountancy industry, friends.
Source: News.com.au.

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