Blog
Motor vehicle registries data matching program protocol
The ATO will match the data provided by the State and Territory motor vehicle registering authorities against the ATO’s taxpayer records with the objective of identifying those who may not be meeting their registration, reporting, lodgement and payment obligations. Details will be requeste ..
Scammers impersonating tax agents
Taxpayers are advised that if they are suspicious about a phone call from someone claiming to be the ATO, then they should disconnect and call the ATO or their tax agent to confirm the status of their tax affairs and verify the call. The ATO has received increasing reports of a new take on ..
Inactive ABNs will be cancelled by the ATO
The ATO has recently advised that, in an effort to maintain accurate data, the Australian Business Register (or ‘ABR’) periodically checks its records for Australian Business Numbers (‘ABNs’) and automatically cancels those that appear inactive. Ultimately, a taxpayer’s ABN may be cancelled i ..
Reforms to stop companies avoiding employee entitlements
The Government will introduce new laws to stop corporate misuse of the Australian Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme. The FEG scheme is an avenue of last resort that assists employees when their employer’s business fails and the employer has not made adequate provision f ..
Change to travel expenses for truck drivers
The ATO has released its latest taxation determination on reasonable travel expenses, and it includes a big change for employee truck drivers. For the 2017/18 income year, the reasonable amount for travel expenses (excluding accommodation expenses, which must be substantiated with written ..
Fallout from 'Panama Papers' Spreads
Earlier in the year, we reported that an unknown source had leaked 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca – these are now referred to as the 'Panama Papers'. Basically, the documents illustrated how many wealthy individuals are hiding their money and income from ..
Phoenix Taskforce swoops on dodgy businesses
The ATO’s stance against phoenix activity has continued with multiple search warrants issued, and many business and residential sites accessed without notice across Victoria and Queensland, as part of a criminal investigation into unpaid superannuation, employee withholding, GST, and income tax. ..
Tax time is prime time for scams
The ATO is reminding Australians to be on the lookout for tax-related scams during tax time, as scammers are particularly active because of the large number of people lodging their tax returns. Assistant Commissioner Graham Whyte said that, while most people were able to identify scams, ..
ATO Warns about iTunes Scammers
The ATO is reminding the public to be alert to scammers impersonating the ATO demanding iTunes gift cards as a form of tax debt payment Of the 8692 phone scam reports the ATO received in April 2016 in relation to the fake ATO tax debt scam, 58 reports mentioned the scammer demanding paymen ..
Vineyard Scheme Promoters Penalised
The Federal Court has fined a company running a managed investment scheme, and its directors, more than $1 million for breaching the promoter penalty provisions of the Taxation Administration Act. The Court awarded civil penalties to the ATO against Barossa Vines Limited (and its four direct ..
Recent Posts
- ATO watching for foreign income this Tax Time
- "Outrageous" deductions rejected
- ATO guidance regarding incorrect ENCC determinations
- The ATO hits the road
- Motor vehicle registries data matching program protocol
- ATO guidance regarding 'downsizer contributions'
- ATO Updates
- Company loans to shareholders under review
- Scammers impersonating tax agents
- Expansion of the TPRS