There are important questions we need to answer about taxes. How progressive or regressive? How should rates vary on different forms of income? How much of fixing our fiscal problems should come from raising revenue versus cutting spending? I have my opinions and you are entitled to yours. But some basic truths, old fashioned as [...]
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Dec
2012
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Dec
2012
In the last quarter, 465 individuals and companies were convicted for tax and superannuation criminal offences resulting in over $1.56 million in fines and penalties. “The ATO pursues tax cheats to the full extent of the law to ensure people who pay their fair share of tax are not disadvantaged,” Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo said. [...]
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Oct
2012
Do your clients prepare their own tax return? If so, they only have a week until the 31 October lodgment deadline. “I urge anyone worried about not meeting the deadline to call 13 28 61 as soon as possible, to discuss their situation,” said Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo. “It is important to lodge before 31 October [...]
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Sep
2012
So far this tax time the ATO has already stopped 58,000 income tax returns containing suspected over claimed or fraudulent refunds. “Each year our ability to match data gets better, making it more likely people will be identified if they leave anything out or incorrectly report items on their tax return,” said Tax Commissioner Michael [...]
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Sep
2012
Two thousand individuals and companies were successfully prosecuted for fraud, tax and superannuation offences in the 2011-12 financial year. “Tax cheats are trying to get an unfair advantage, adding to the burden on the majority of people who do the right thing and meet their tax obligations,” said Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo. “Our tax and [...]
continue readingThe Australian Tax Office today released a taxpayer alert warning people to be cautious about sophisticated structured financial products that claim to offer franking credits and other tax benefits. “These complex highly-structured investment products claim to offer investors exposure to a portfolio of listed securities but use a derivative instrument, such as a swap to [...]
continue readingThe Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) prosecution of more than 1,500 people for tax and superannuation offences sends a clear warning to tax cheats that they can expect to be caught. Speaking at the release of the ATO’s third quarter update of prosecution results, Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo said the figures show that there are significant [...]
continue readingThe ATO has recently issued draft SMSF Ruling SMSFR 2011/D1 – Self Managed Superannuation Funds: limited recourse borrowing arrangements – application of key concepts. This draft ruling explains important concepts about limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) provisions as they apply to SMSFs. The key concepts explained are: what is an ‘acquirable asset’ and a ‘single [...]
continue readingActing Tax Commissioner Jennie Granger today reminded the community that the ATO is continuing its focus on those who do the wrong thing. “Those who are caught face extremely serious penalties including criminal conviction, significant fines and imprisonment,” Ms Granger said. “Even if penalties do not include jail time a criminal conviction will mean a [...]
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Nov
2011
One way that the ATO addresses the cash economy is through writing to taxpayers and – where identified in ATO systems – their associated tax agent representatives. In 2011-12, the ATO is sending letters to registered tax agents identified as having a high number of clients reporting outside the small business benchmarks. We will include a list of the [...]
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