I also note that the ATO now allows simplified returns to be lodged using "myTax". However, my affairs do have a couple of little "wrinkles" so I don't come into this category that can use this form, and I have to continue to work my way through e-Tax.
The biggest change this year is the need to create a "myGov" account. Although this is a new process, I guess it just builds incrementally on the previous arrangements. Just the same, the process certainly brought "Big Brother" to mind and I worry about the security of portals such as this. Frankly, I'm not reassured when, after a security breach, I read statements along the lines that, oh yes, there was a vulnerability, but we've "fixed" it (that is, past tense). I guess the next vulnerability will be fixed, too - after the hackers have demonstrated that it exists!
Another issue with e-Tax is that it's hard to save a pdf file of the final tax return as lodged (or even as a draft). I think e-Tax expects you to retain the file within e-Tax. I've experimented with a couple of work-arounds, and the best one that I've come across is a little bit of freeware called "CutePDF writer". Pity that e-Tax doesn't contain something like this.
The one upside of all this is the nice feeling that I get when, after hours of digging out data and filling things in, I finally press the "submit" button!
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