Post by Banjo on Mar 5, 2012 5:39:59 GMT 7
Australian Tax Office's Big Brother has eye on you
NEXT time you buy a car, go to the bank or splurge out at the shops, the Australian Tax Office will be watching what you spend.
In addition to checking Department of Immigration and Centrelink records, the ATO is now accessing records from insurance companies, banks, credit and debit card issuers, motor registries and other private businesses to see how much money you have to splash around.
All of the 2.7 million Australians who bought or sold a car worth more than $10,000 last financial year are currently being scrutinised.
Hardware store purchases are being used to catch out tradespeople and contractors.
Workcover records of 20,000 taxpayers are being checked and 50,000 lawyers will also have their earnings scrutinised from reports received from their state-based professional associations.
The ATO also has cafes and pizzerias in their sights, checking the books of cheese and coffee wholesalers to identify businesses that might be skimming some of their profits or taking home supplies.
People who buy and sell on eBay and other online marketplaces are also being checked.
An ATO spokeswoman told The Sunday Mail it was the start of an expansion of the tax office's data-matching and compliance program.
"Over the past 18 months the ATO has obtained data for matching from coffee suppliers, marine insurers, online selling sites, building materials suppliers, professional associations of the legal profession, Workcover, motor registries, credit and debit card providers, share registries and Centrelink (Family Tax Benefit payments) among others," she said.
Roger Timms, head of taxation and superannuation at Taxpayers Australia, said all financial transactions of more than $10,000 were reported to a government agency called AUSTRAC, and that data could be matched against reported taxable income.
"Data-matching targets business and contractors, but PAYG taxpayers are being caught up in this net as well," he said.
"For instance, if you bought an old car with the intention of doing it up and selling it later for a profit, you could generate a capital gains tax liability," he said.
"Or if you claim motor vehicle expenses on your tax return, that could trigger inquiries from the tax office to your employer."
In addition, credit and debit card matching will target the sales data of 400,000 small businesses by accessing records from seven banks and American Express.
Once the tax office has established an apparent problem, like the purchase of an expensive boat or overseas holiday by a taxpayer with a very low reported income, it can then make further inquiries.
Christie Lewis, practice manager at Alan Lewis Accountants, said couples claiming the dependent spouse tax offset should also be careful.
"The ATO will collect information from Centrelink of taxpayers who were eligible for Family Tax Benefit part B for the financial years 2009, 2010 and 2011 or who received parental leave pay," she said.
"If your spouse received these payments, you would not be eligible to claim the offset. Beware, big brother is watching."
www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/big-brother-is-watching-you/story-e6freooo-1226288318516
NEXT time you buy a car, go to the bank or splurge out at the shops, the Australian Tax Office will be watching what you spend.
In addition to checking Department of Immigration and Centrelink records, the ATO is now accessing records from insurance companies, banks, credit and debit card issuers, motor registries and other private businesses to see how much money you have to splash around.
All of the 2.7 million Australians who bought or sold a car worth more than $10,000 last financial year are currently being scrutinised.
Hardware store purchases are being used to catch out tradespeople and contractors.
Workcover records of 20,000 taxpayers are being checked and 50,000 lawyers will also have their earnings scrutinised from reports received from their state-based professional associations.
The ATO also has cafes and pizzerias in their sights, checking the books of cheese and coffee wholesalers to identify businesses that might be skimming some of their profits or taking home supplies.
People who buy and sell on eBay and other online marketplaces are also being checked.
An ATO spokeswoman told The Sunday Mail it was the start of an expansion of the tax office's data-matching and compliance program.
"Over the past 18 months the ATO has obtained data for matching from coffee suppliers, marine insurers, online selling sites, building materials suppliers, professional associations of the legal profession, Workcover, motor registries, credit and debit card providers, share registries and Centrelink (Family Tax Benefit payments) among others," she said.
Roger Timms, head of taxation and superannuation at Taxpayers Australia, said all financial transactions of more than $10,000 were reported to a government agency called AUSTRAC, and that data could be matched against reported taxable income.
"Data-matching targets business and contractors, but PAYG taxpayers are being caught up in this net as well," he said.
"For instance, if you bought an old car with the intention of doing it up and selling it later for a profit, you could generate a capital gains tax liability," he said.
"Or if you claim motor vehicle expenses on your tax return, that could trigger inquiries from the tax office to your employer."
In addition, credit and debit card matching will target the sales data of 400,000 small businesses by accessing records from seven banks and American Express.
Once the tax office has established an apparent problem, like the purchase of an expensive boat or overseas holiday by a taxpayer with a very low reported income, it can then make further inquiries.
Christie Lewis, practice manager at Alan Lewis Accountants, said couples claiming the dependent spouse tax offset should also be careful.
"The ATO will collect information from Centrelink of taxpayers who were eligible for Family Tax Benefit part B for the financial years 2009, 2010 and 2011 or who received parental leave pay," she said.
"If your spouse received these payments, you would not be eligible to claim the offset. Beware, big brother is watching."
www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/big-brother-is-watching-you/story-e6freooo-1226288318516
