Australian Tax Office Has Received More Than 250,000 Informants Since 2019
Building and construction, cafes and restaurants, and hairdressing and beauty services were the top industries that the ATO received tip-offs about in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) stated that it had received 250,000 tip-offs from the community regarding tax avoidance and other dishonest behaviors since July 1, 2019. Specifically, there were more than 47,000 tip-offs in the 2023/24 financial year alone.
The ATO believes there is an annual tax revenue shortfall of around $16 billion due to businesses engaging in activities like cash jobs. It receives close to 1,000 messages each week from individuals who have knowledge or suspicions of tax evasion.
Building and construction, cafes and restaurants, and hairdressing and beauty services were the industries most frequently reported to the ATO in the previous financial year.
New South Wales had the highest number of tips reported (15,516), followed by Victoria (11,256) and Queensland (10,629). However, the top five regional postcodes that provided tip-offs all came from Queensland: Southport, Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Mackay, and Caboolture.
90 Percent of Tip-Offs Followed Up
“These businesses are deliberately undercutting their competitors and gaining an unfair advantage in their industry,” explained ATO Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding. “People who cheat their competitors and the community will likely try to cheat their customers too.”
The community is “fed up with dodgy behaviors” and are alerting the ATO about taxpayers not reporting income, requesting cash payments from customers, paying employees in cash to avoid taxes and superannuation, failing to report sales, and discrepancies between income and lifestyle.
Community tip-offs play a crucial role in the ATO’s efforts to combat the shadow economy. Approximately 90 percent of the tips reviewed by the ATO in 2023/24 warranted further investigation.
Specialized teams and taskforces within the ATO, such as the cross-agency Shadow Economy Taskforce, conduct investigations based on tip-offs. These investigations have led to the discovery of businesses using electronic sales suppression tools (ESSTs) to evade tax payments, with one instance resulting in a $23 million tax evasion.
A tip-off can provide vital information for investigations and ultimately hold accountable those who engage in fraudulent practices.
