It seems like only yesterday I was writing about the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) being our Big Brother. Now I would almost go as far as to say it’s inevitable that one day the ATO will know everything about us without needing to provide them with any details.
The target now sits on new car owners backs, the ATO wants to know exactly what car you’re driving.
So what does that mean for tax payers?
Essentially the ATO are going to use their data matching abilities to review data provided to them from the various state motor vehicle authorities (ie Vic Roads). They are specially looking to identify and address noncompliance with tax obligations.
I see 3 key objectives of the program;
- Identify tax payers buying and selling motor vehicles and the accuracy of their tax reporting
- Identify buyers of motor vehicles with motor vehicle purchase/transfer values that don’t correlate to the tax payers level of income
- Identify taxpayers who may not have met their obligations with regards to GST, fringe benefits tax, luxury car tax, fuel schemes and income tax
The ATO will be gaining access to data on vehicles transferred or newly registered in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 financial years with a value over $10,000. It is estimated they will access 2 million transactions per year, or 2.8 million individuals.
Is anyone thinking, why are they doing this? The short answer is, they believe the revenue gained through unpaid taxes and penalties will far outweigh the cost of running the program.
For anyone needing some light reading, specific details can be found here.
If you have any questions regarding how this might affect you or your business please contact your advisory at HTA Advisory.
