ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES – AUSTRALIA

KPMG review into bungled census ‘compromised’, says whistleblower

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jun-18

Harmers Workplace Lawyers is taking legal action against KPMG and three of its senior executives on behalf of former associate director James Eldridge. KPMG has been accused of taking adverse action against Eldridge; he was dismissed as a result of complaints he made about KPMG’s review of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ IT systems following the flawed 2016 census. Eldridge is said to have told KPMG that he felt that the review was not accurate or independent. KPMG has denied his allegations, and has stated that his dismissal was for "appropriate reasons".

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Tax Office reveals its top targets for audits

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Jun-18

Home offices, cryptocurrencies and property investments will be among the Australian Taxation Office’s main areas of scrutiny when it comes to assessing 2017-18 tax returns. ATO assistant commissioner Kath Anderson notes that the amount of data that it collects each year continues to grow, making it easier to compare taxpayers to others with similar incomes and occupations to see whether appropriate deductions are being claimed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

ATO targets 106 secret Credit Suisse accounts

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-May-18

The financial affairs of Credit Suisse’s private clients in Australia are under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO contacted 77 of the Swiss bank’s local private clients on 1 May, and it will target 106 such clients in total. The ATO has identified more than 5,000 cross-border transactions that are deemed to be suspicious, and which exceed $A900m in total. The Australian clients are believed to have been advised by Switzerland-based relationship managers, who are alleged to have provided advice on tax evasion schemes.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE AG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

ATO cracks down on other work-related deductions

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Original article by Frank Chung
News.com.au – Page: Online : 22-Feb-18

The Australian Taxation Office has signalled its intention to target tax deductions for dubious work-related expenses in 2018. ATO assistant commissioner Kath Anderson says workers claimed a record $A7.9bn worth of deductions for "other" work-related expenses in 2017. She says many people attempt to claim a tax deduction for private expenses and pass it off as a work expense. She stresses the importance of keeping records of legitimate work-related expenses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

AEC criticised over election security

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Jan-18

Auditor-General Grant Hehir has accused the Australian Electoral Commission of misleading voters about the level of polling security at the 2016 federal election. Hehir also found that the amount that the AEC paid contractors to transport voters’ ballot papers was higher than it had budgeted for, and that it had made a last-minute decision to manually count more than 14 million large Senate ballot papers. The AEC had spent $A27.2 million on scanning systems, but it determined that they were not accurate enough.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE

ABS to slash 150 staff by middle of next year

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Original article by Doug Dingwall
The Canberra Times – Page: 9 : 19-Jan-18

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will respond to budget cuts by further reducing its workforce over the next several years. The ABS employs about 2,800 people in total, and it intends to shed 150 jobs by mid-2019. The ABS previously cut 100 jobs in 2017 and 120 in 2016. However, the ABS has advised a Senate committee that the latest job cuts will be focused on office-based employees, and its 400-strong team of field workers who undertake interviews with householders will not be affected.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

$100m lost in Plutus tax scam

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Original article by Geoff Winestock, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jan-18

The liquidators of Plutus Payroll, the company at the centre of a tax fraud case, have released their first report to its creditors. Plutus Payroll and its associated companies have total debts of $A136 million. Based on how much Tim Norman of Deloitte Financial Advisory estimates will be recoverable from Plutus Payroll itself, it appears that the Australian Taxation Office may have to forgo around $A100 million. It is owed all but $A2 million of the debt.

CORPORATES
PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DELOITTE FINANCIAL ADVISORY, SYNEP, HARTFORD INVESTMENTS, KISMETS

ATO beefs up internal processes after scandal

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 11-Jan-18

The Plutus Payroll fraud has prompted the Australian Taxation Office to review and strengthen its internal integrity and fraud controls. The ATO has also revamped its fraud awareness training programs, while senior executives have participated in regular meetings of the Inspector-General of Taxation’s review of fraud control management. The son and daughter of former deputy commissioner Michael Cranston are facing criminal charges over his role in the Plutus fraud, while Cranston himself has been charged with abuse of public office.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

ATO’s $75bn crackdown on debt

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 13 : 18-Dec-17

The Australian Taxation Office is understood to have reached settlements with 12 multinational companies in regard to related party debt. The value of the borrowings in question is put at $A75 billion. ATO Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn says the term of the settlements provide for future tax revenues, as well as resolving past disputes. He says the ATO is now working with an additional 60 taxpayers, with the value of their related party debt accounting for around $A120 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

ATO gets personal with 1500 richest

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Dec-17

The Australian Taxation Office is taking a new approach when it comes to ensuring that the nation’s richest people are not avoiding their tax obligations. Whereas the ATO’s previous policy in this area was to rely on tax reviews and audits, its new strategy involves personal interviews with Australia’s richest people. The ATO’s current focus, which is led by Will Day, is on Australia’s top 320 private groups. Those within this group have either $A500 million or more in assets or at least $A350 million in turnover.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE