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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has received 250,000 tip-offs about tax avoidance and other dishonest behaviours since July 2019.
More than 47,000 were received in the 2023-24 financial year alone, with 90% deemed suitable for further investigation. Building and construction businesses, cafes and restaurants, and hairdressing and beauty services were most commonly reported.
ATO assistant commissioner Tony Goding says Australians are fed up with dodgy tax behaviours, including businesses:
* not declaring income
* demanding cash payments from customers
* paying workers in cash to avoid paying tax and super
* not reporting sales
And it’s not just about ‘cash only’ signs or point of sale (electronic payments) systems being 'out of order', he says.
The ATO estimates there is around $16 billion in stolen taxes because of businesses doing things like cash jobs each year.
“These businesses are deliberately undercutting their competitors and gaining an unfair advantage in their industry,” Goding says, adding that businesses that cheat their competitors are likely to cheat their customers too.
#accountant #tax #taxavoidance
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