TAX EVASION – AUSTRALIA

MinRes aware of claims for two years

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Original article by Elouise Fowler, Mark Wembridge, Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Oct-24

Mineral Resources has advised that it had hired external lawyers in June 2022 to investigate the tax evasion allegations against MD Chris Ellison. The company also disclosed that it received more detailed allegations regarding Ellison in June and November 2023; the board also discussed the issue in June 2024. However, MinRes has stated that it did not inform shareholders of the investigation because it did not think it would have a material effect on the company’s share price. MinRes has emphasised that the sales contracts in question were struck prior to its IPO in 2006, and were made by entities that became part of MinRes when the company listed on the sharemarket.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Plutus fraudster seeking happiness gets jail

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 29-Aug-19

Plutus Payroll’s former general manager Joshua Kitson will be eligible for parole in three years, after being jailed for his role in a $105m tax fraud. His 4.5-year sentence in the Supreme Court of New South Wales is the first to be handed down as a result of the massive fraud. Justice Anthony Payne ruled that although Kitson was not one of the main instigator’s of the fraud, he had played an integral role and described him as an "essential facilitator".

CORPORATES
PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

KPMG urges refund plan for black economy fines

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Jan-19

KPMG’s submission to a Treasury review has proposed that individuals who have previously engaged in black economy activity could have part of their fine refunded if they have a proven track record of complying with tax laws. The firm suggested that individuals would be more likely to continue to comply with tax laws under such a system, and they could qualify for a refund after three years with a clean slate. The black economy is estimated to be worth up to $50bn a year.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

How ATO is catching more fraudsters

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Dec-18

The Australian Taxation Office has joined forces with its peers in the US, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands to establish the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement group. The five tax authorities will co-operate in combating activities such as tax fraud, organised crime and money-laundering. Assistant tax commissioner Peter Vujanic says the ATO’s data-matching and analytical capabilities means there is now a much higher probability that tax-related crimes will be detected, regardless of their level of sophistication.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, UNITED STATES. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, GREAT BRITAIN. HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS, CANADA. REVENUE AGENCY, NETHERLANDS. FISCAL INFORMATION AND INVESTIGATION SERVICE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE

Boosted powers, travel ban plan to cut avoidance

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Original article by Emma Koehn
The Age – Page: 25 : 27-Nov-18

A recent Treasury discussion paper flagged measures aimed at those who avoid tax as part of a crackdown on the black economy. These include imposing overseas travel bans on persons with outstanding tax obligations, as well as giving the Australian Taxation Office the power to access telecommunications data and third-party information such as bank accounts. Submissions to Treasury concerning the discussion paper can be made until 21 December.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BDO AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Tax Office hunts for undeclared income

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 19-Sep-18

The Australian Taxation Office will use data-matching technology to recoup up to $1.4bn in unpaid taxes from foreign income and cash payments. As part of the crackdown, the ATO will increase its co-operation with around 100 foreign tax agencies, with data from Austrac showing that the US, the UK, New Zealand and China are among the leading countries from which Australians receive undeclared foreign income. The ATO’s assistant commissioner Kath Anderson says there is also a growing trend for taxpayers to fail to declare income from sources such as cryptocurrency trading and gig economy earnings.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

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

Tax leak as tradies borrow Bunnings ABN

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff, Amos Aikman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 2-Aug-17

Paul Drum of CPA Australia has called for major changes to the Australian Business Number system, arguing that it is being widely rorted. He says businesses are abusing the tax system by creating multiple ABNs or using incorrect ones. The chairman of the Federal Government’s black economy taskforce, Michael Andrew, adds that 3.5 million ABNs have been issued to companies or individuals that have not lodged a single tax statement or tax return. The push for reform comes amid revelations that many tradespeople are exploiting the tax system by issuing invoices that quote the ABN of hardware giant Bunnings.

CORPORATES
CPA AUSTRALIA, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED

Cranston’s long ATO career ends in court

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 14-Jun-17

Australian Tax Office veteran Michael Cranston has formally resigned in the wake of revelations about a massive tax fraud that involves his son and daughter. Cranston himself was not involved in the $A130m tax fraud, but he has been charged with two counts of abuse of public office. The deputy commissioner of taxation has been suspended without pay since the tax scam was exposed, while another three ATO officials have also been suspended while the investigation into the scandal continues.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Top corporations paid zero tax

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Age – Page: 10 : 17-Dec-15

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will release the tax details of 1,539 companies on 17 December 2015. The document will show that 38 per cent of the companies did not pay any tax in 2013-14. ATO Acting Second Commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn said that these companies were not necessarily engaged in tax avoidance.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY