This declaration is to be completed where a taxpayer elects to use the Electronic Lodgment service, it is the responsibility of the taxpayer to retain this declaration for a period of five years after the declaration is made; penalties may apply for failure to do so.PrivacyThe ATO is authorized by the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, the Income Tax Assessments Act 1997 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to ask for information in this form. We need this information to help us to administer the taxation laws.We may give this information to other government agencies authorised by law to receive it-for example, benefit payment agencies such as Centerlink, the Department of Education, Science, Training and Youth Affairs and the Department of Family and Community Services; law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Authority; and other agencies such as the Child Support Agency, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Reserve Bank of Australia.Your tax file numberYou do not have to quote your TFN. However, you cannot lodge your Income tax form electronically if you do not quote your TFN. Electronic funds transfer – direct debitWhere you have requested an EFT direct debit some of your details are provided to your financial institution and the ATO’s sponsor bank to facilitate the payment of your taxation liability from your nominated account.Family tax benefitWhere you have claimed the Family Tax Benefit (FTB), your claim will not be accepted if you do not provide your TFN of each spouse included in your claim unless you are exempt from providing it-exemptions are explained on page 17 FBT tax claim instructions 2002.The Family Assistance Office – which is a partnership between Centerlink, the ATO, the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) and the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) – is authorized by the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to ask for the information in the FBT tax claims. The information will be used for the purposes for administering family assistance payments. Limited personal information may be used for customer’s surveys run by the ATO and its client department, or by research organisations on behalf, Limited information about you may also be disclosed to others when your circumstances affect their entitlements to payments and services. The FAO may also give this information to someone else if you give permission, or to government agencies authorized by law to receive it-for example, partner agencies including Centerlink, the ATO, HIC and FaCS; assistance agencies such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands Commission; the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business and the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs; and other agencies such as Child Support Agency and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Declaration: I declare that: The information provided to the tax agent for the preparation of the document is true and correct; and the agent is authorised to give the document to the Commissioner of Taxation. Important: The tax law imposes heavy penalties for giving false or misleading information