[plug] linux and the ATO

[Alex Polglaze]

This has just arrived following a post on this list in 28/11/00 which I
followed up with the ATO.

This is a call to the battlements.

If we want a Unix/Linux version of this then we had better inundate the
ATO with requests and show how many real businesses wants Unix/Linux
based products.

The ball is in our court.


Alex

****************************************************************
This note is to inform you as to the current status of development of
Unix/Linux versions of the ATO Electronic Commerce Interface (ECI).  Our
records show that your business has previously expressed interest in
obtaining such a version.

Please note; we had planned to send this note prior to Christmas 2000,
however due to an oversight, it did not go out as intended.  We
apologise for the delay in notifying you.

The ECI was originally released as a Practice facility for Microsoft
Windows operating systems in February 2000 and subsequently went into
production in June 2000.  This catered for the vast majority of clients
who had indicated they wished to deal electronically with the ATO over
the Internet.  For clients with different operating systems
(specifically Apple Macintosh and Unix/Linux), we indicated that
additional versions of the ECI to cater for such systems were under
development but not currently available.

At the time of the original ECI releases, we had no firm statistics of
the numbers of businesses that wished to use the ECI and what operating
systems they had.  Accordingly, we invited businesses in these
situations to contact our ESD Technical Support Centre and notify us of
their operating system requirements.  A significant number of businesses
requested an Apple Macintosh version and we consequently released this
in August 2000.  A small number of requests were received for Unix/Linux
versions.

After considering the costs of both developing, and subsequently
maintaining, Unix/Linux versions of the ECI against the benefits for a
very small number of users, the ATO has taken the decision not to
proceed with the introduction of these versions on the basis that it is
not cost effective in this instance.  However, this decision would be
reviewed in the event that the numbers of existing Unix/Linux users
increased significantly over and above the existing number of requests. 

The ATO has previously indicated that the ATO preferred way for
businesses to conduct taxation dealings with the ATO is to do so
electronically. Notwithstanding the forementioned decision, we will
continue to encourage businesses to explore ways to deal electronically
with the ATO.


John Higham
Assistant Commissioner
Computerisation (GST)