Still no Mac, Linux support for ATO's e-tax

By Liz Tay on May 18, 2010 9:55 AM
Filed under Software

2007 promises go unfulfilled.

The 2010 version of the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) online tax return software will support Windows 7, but not Mac or Linux operating systems.

Since the e-tax software was introduced in 1999, it has been compatible only with Microsoft's operating systems.

The ATO has been expected to make e-tax available on other systems since 2007, when Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo announced plans to make it "compatible with any computer system that has internet access."

In September 2009, the agency extended a three-year-long relationship with IT services company DWS with a $10m, three-year contract to maintain and develop e-tax.

However, an ATO spokesman today told iTnews that e-tax 2010 will still be incompatible with non-Windows systems when it is launched on 1 July.

While introducing Windows 7 compatibility required only a small change, developing for non-Windows operating systems would require a "complete redevelopment", the spokesman said.

"This year, e-tax is compatible with Windows XP (Service Pack 3, 32 Bit), Vista (Service Pack 1, 32 Bit) and Windows 7 (32 or 64 Bit)," the spokeman said.

"In an e-tax context the differences between Windows Vista and Windows 7 were not significant.

"Based on technology currently available, e-tax cannot be made compatible with non-Windows operating systems without a complete redevelopment of the existing e-tax software.

"The ATO will continue to explore the availability and cost of technology to allow the existing e-tax software to be made available to a wider range of operating systems."

More than 2.3 million people lodged their 2009 tax return using the free software, the spokesman told iTnews.

According to Gartner's analysis of the PC market by operating system, Windows 2000, XP and Vista was installed on a total 92.3 percent of worldwide PCs in 2009. Windows 7 was installed on 2.7 percent, Mac OS on 3.0 percent, and Linux on 2.0 percent.

The report, which was published last week, forecasts Windows 7 installations to increase to 18.8 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, Mac OS installations will increase slightly to 3.4 percent and Linux will remain at 2.0 percent.

Still no Mac, Linux support for ATO's e-tax

13 comments in this discussion

"@luchie contribute something rational instead being a dull troll, and then readers might take you seriously. You created a new account just to drop in that one-liner?? Heh."

By Sams

Tags

etax, ato, mac, linux, windows

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Comments: 13

longsword May 18, 2010 1:28 PM	Given the pathetic market share OS X has why would you bother. Better to use any monies allocated to develop an iPhone version and Android version.
slackguy May 18, 2010 2:14 PM	@ longsword: yeah, because everybody clearly does their tax at work on their business computers roll eyes. If you look at consumers, you might find that "pathetic market share OSX has" is entirely different. It's about time the ATO stopped making excuses. As for an Android version, hahaha, are you kidding?
Psuedo May 18, 2010 2:49 PM	Why not create an online version, considering you have to have internet access to lodge your etax anyway. That way you just make sure it is compatible with IE, Firefox and your done.
longsword May 18, 2010 3:52 PM	Actually @Slackguy you'd be surprised having replaced some 10,000 PCs this year over 60% had e-tax installed in one form or another. So yes lots of people especially laptop users use their work/business PC.
djzort May 18, 2010 4:38 PM	etax used to work perfectly in wine, allowing me to do my tax without having to pay the microsoft tax for a number of years. only in the last few years did they introduce a new component which broke the ssl functions. see http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=17063&iTestingId=42823 my suggestion would be to work with the cxoffice people and produce a wine wrapped version for linux and macosx. google has provided a few apps (picasa and more) using wine for some time now. everyone has been happy for the wine patches and the working apps.
wjc May 18, 2010 5:02 PM	Once upon a time we, as citizens, expected our governments to definitely NOT lock us into one brand of anything in order to communitae with them. Remember GOSIP - Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile? Yes - it was developed and there under a Labor (Hawke/Keating) as well as a Liberal government. Today we are expected to support a government that locks its sytems into ONE acknowledged monopoly, and the forces us to do the same...encouraging by implication monopolistic activity in the IT industry. As a Linux/UNIX user of long standing I find this attitude just amazing and intolerable...but indicative of an attitude that cares little for an open and fair market...yes, at federal Government - Kevin Rudd level! Imagine if Prime Minister Rudd declared that all cars that go to parliamnet house had to be Holdens --- and ONLY Holdens! Would Australians tolerate that?
BlastedUser May 18, 2010 5:33 PM	Well, since etax got introduced in 1999, the ATO would have required at least 3 platforms to have been supported on the Mac - OS9, OSX PowerPC and then OSX Intel. With Windows as a "de facto" standard OS, it was a no-brainer in 1999. As someone else has already mentioned, a web version is the best way of targetting all platforms.
Sams May 18, 2010 6:36 PM	Write it in Java (Eclipse app?) and/or put it on the web. It is just an electronic form, not a space shuttle navigation program. It amazes me how much money the ATO spends on this stuff.
Sams May 18, 2010 6:37 PM	"since etax got introduced in 1999, the ATO would have required at least 3 platforms to have been supported on the Mac" Java was around in 1995.
BlastedUser May 18, 2010 10:32 PM	It looks like a Delphi app to me, and the considerations for cross-platform only happened in 2007. I guess the real blame is DWS for not having the talent to make a cross-platform version or the ATO for not mandating one.
block May 19, 2010 12:02 PM	I think you'll find it won't be that DWS doesn't have the talent. If needed they could always hire. You'll probably find it wasn't in the original contract and the government didn't want to pay for a major redevelopment into a different language.
luchie May 19, 2010 7:03 PM	Lookout! here come the freetards! Lose the penguin cap and the Stallman beard first.. then we'll take you seriously.
Sams May 19, 2010 8:45 PM	@luchie contribute something rational instead being a dull troll, and then readers might take you seriously. You created a new account just to drop in that one-liner?? Heh.