Government Puts Tax Cheats “On Notice”

Pointing to new ATO figures showing an estimated annual shortfall of $33.4 billion between tax owed and tax paid, the Albanese Government has announced that it “is investing in the capabilities of our tax regulators to increase receipts by around $5.7 billion over the forward estimates”.

The Government is providing a clear signal that tax avoidance will not be tolerated, and its “investment” in the tax regulators over the forward estimates includes:

– $1.1 billion to increase and extend funding for the Tax Avoidance Taskforce, which focuses on multinational, large business, and high wealth tax avoidance;

– $242.9 million to extend the Shadow Economy Program for a further three years, which helps to stop dishonest and criminal activities outside of the tax system;

– $80.3 million to extend the Personal Income Taxation Compliance Program for a further two years, to support individuals to pay the right amount of tax; and

– $20.8 million for the Tax Practitioners Board (‘TPB’) to increase compliance investigations on high risk practitioners.

Ref: Media Release, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. 31 October 2022