Tax cheats dobbed in
THOUSANDS of Aussies have been dobbed in for dodgy tax-related behaviour with those in the building and construction sector topping the list.
Aussies across the country made a total of 43,000 tip-offs to the Australian Taxation Office in the 2021-22 financial year, with businesses, customers, employees and members of the public picking up the
phone to report alleged offenders.
Hairdressing and beauty services came in second on the list, followed by cafes and restaurants, road freight transport, and management advice and related consulting services.
More than 13,400 calls were made to the ATO in the state, followed closely by Victoria, 11,500, and Queensland, 9200.
While Sydneysiders were the main culprits, Aussies in regional locations were also exposing their local alleged crooks.
The Sunshine Coast hinterland and Cairns in Queensland, Wellington in NSW and Wodonga and the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria made the top five regional locations for tip-offs – almost 7,000 calls coming from people outside of major cities.
Examples of dodgy dealings included businesses demanding cash from customers or offering a discount for cash, paying workers “cash in hand”, not declaring all sales, failing to provide pay slips to workers, or even running illegal software that modifies sales transactions.
The ATO is currently using intelligence from tip-offs to address the “shadow economy”, which is estimated to be scrapping $11bn off the top of our taxes each year.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Peter Holt said while the past few years had been tough for businesses, it did not excuse this kind of behaviour.
“The shadow economy is an economic and social issue that affects all of us,” Mr Holt said.
“As businesses recover from the impacts of Covid and natural disasters it is more important than ever to protect the vast majority of businesses who are honest and try to do the right thing.”
He said fraudulent behaviour put pressure on community services: “Every dollar of tax dodged is a dollar that can’t be used for vital services like health and aged care.”