TAXATION – AUSTRALIA

Australian tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle may avoid jail in plea deal

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-May-25

Former Australian Tax Office debt collection officer Richard Boyle has pleaded guilty to four criminal charges in the Adelaide District Court, while 15 charges were withdrawn. Another five charges had been withdrawn in March. Former senator Rex Patrick, who founded the Whistleblowers Justice Fund, has described Boyle as a ‘superhero’ for publicly exposing the ATO’s debt recovery tactics; he adds that it is a disgrace that Boyle has been pursued for eight years over his revelations. Patrick believes that Boyle could potentially avoid custodial sentence after pleading guilty; however, he adds that Boyle may still be convicted, which would affect his future career prospects.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DISTRICT COURT OF ADELAIDE

Older Australians pressured into paying unfair robotax debts will not be compensated, government says

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-Jul-24

The federal government will pursue legislative amendments to enable tax debts that were incurred before 2017 to remain on hold indefinitely. However, it has been criticised for refusing to provide refunds to people who have already paid historic tax debts in response to the Australian Taxation Office’s so-called ‘robotax’ campaign. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has stated that people who responded to the letters from the ATO will not be refunded, given that they had paid legitimate tax debts. Greens senator Nick McKim says this stance is "manifestly unfair".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Taxes eating up to 45pc of income: study

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Apr-24

The Centre for Independent Studies has forecast that federal, state and local government tax revenue will rise to 30 per cent of GDP in 2023-24; this would be the highest level since the 2000-01 financial year. CIS senior fellow Robert Carling also estimates that taxes now account for 35-45 per cent of household gross income; he adds that although there are at least 125 different taxes in Australia, just 10 of them account for 90 per cent of government revenue. He notes that the benefits of the stage-three personal income tax cuts will be gradually eroded by bracket creep.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED

CBA chief in call for radical tax overhaul

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Original article by Paulina Duran
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Mar-24

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn has called for a major revamp of the nation’s tax system as part of the federal government’s economic growth strategy. Amongst other things, Comyn has proposed the abolition of inefficient taxes such as stamp duties and payroll tax. He has also advocated streamlining the personal income tax regime and the existing tax brackets, including lifting the tax-free threshold to $20,000. Comyn adds that the GST could be increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent to offset the loss of personal income tax revenue, while he has proposed banning cash payments of more than $500 in order to combat the black economy.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Breaking silence on ATO

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 1-Apr-21

Businessman John Dahlsen has revealed the onerous demands that the Australian Taxation Office makes on the nation’s 500 largest private companies. The owner of Victoria-based building materials supplier Dahlsens estimates that complying with the ATO’s request for information about its operations would require the company to submit about 1,000 pages of documentation. The ATO also wants this information to be provided within 27 working days. Dahlsen says the ATO’s implied threat that it will subject companies to audits if they fail to supply all requested information is an abuse of power and process.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DAHLSENS BUILDING CENTRES

Bringing forward tax cuts in federal budget fair, but not very effective: Deloitte

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Original article by Killian Plastow
The New Daily – Page: Online : 28-Sep-20

The federal government has flagged bringing forward tax cuts planned for 2024-25 when it hands down the budget on 6 October. There have been claims that doing so would increase inequality in Australia, but Chris Richardson from Deloitte Access Economics contends that the tax cuts are "fair". However, he suggests that while the tax cuts will help to stimulate the economy, other measures such as spending on infrastructure or social housing could be more effective, as the cuts will generally benefit high-income earners who are more likely to save the extra money than spend it.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Aussie workers among highest taxed in OECD

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-May-20

New figures show that workers in OECD member nations had an average income tax rate of 15.8 per cent in 2019. However, Australian workers on the average wage paid an income tax rate of 23.6 per cent. Denmark, Iceland and Belgium were the only OECD nations that had a higher average income tax rate. Grant Wardell-Johnson of KPMG notes that personal income tax accounts for nearly half of Australia’s tax base.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Tax reform cure for virus fever

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Apr-20

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has warned that the nation’s GDP growth will fall by around six per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, he says the economy should begin to recover in September, with GDP growth of 6-7 per cent expected in 2021. Lowe also says the unemployment rate could peak at 10 per cent in coming months, and it is likely to remain above six per cent for several years. Lowe adds that total hours worked in Australia are forecast to fall by 20 per cent in the first half of 2020. Lowe has also used a speech in Sydney to argue that industrial relations and tax reform should be considered in the wake of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ATO plugs up cash-in-hand payments leak

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 19-Jun-19

The Australian Taxation Office has signalled that it will crack down on companies that make cash-in-hand payments to their employees. Assistant commissioner Peter Holt says that from 1 July, payments to workers will only be tax deductible if they comply with pay-as-you-go withholding and reporting requirements. The crackdown is in response to recommendations made by the federal government’s Black Economy Taskforce, which has estimated that the cash economy is worth up to $50bn a year.

CORPORATES
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