Tax
Australians Disclose Over A$1 Billion In Tax Amnesty
The Australian government has so far obtained A$180 million ($158.5 million) and over A$1 billion in assets as part of a tax amnesty.
The Australian government has so far obtained disclosures of
A$180 million ($158.5 million) in undeclared income and over A$1
billion in assets as part of a tax amnesty.
The Australian Tax Office said in a statement that close to 1500
taxpayers have already made the decision to clean up their tax
affairs and bring income and assets back into the Australian tax
system.
“So far we’ve had disclosures of more than $180 million in
previously unreported offshore income and over A$1 billion in
assets,” said deputy commissioner Michael Cranston.
The amnesty, called Project DO IT, aims to give those with
undisclosed offshore income and assets the chance to come clean
and will run until 19 December.
Those who come forward before the deadline will only be assessed
for the last four years, be liable for a maximum shortfall
penalty of 10 per cent, and will not be referred for criminal
investigation.
“What we’re seeing is people waking up to the fact that it
doesn’t make sense anymore to hide assets and income offshore -
recent developments in exchange of information between countries
and improved data matching capability mean there’s nowhere left
to hide,” said Cranston.
Offshore tax evasion remains a problem for countries and
jurisdictions worldwide seeking to plug large budget shortfalls.
Following the global financial crisis, governments across the
globe have made it a key priority to increase transparency and
crack down on tax evasion and secrecy.
