The Government has released exposure draft legislation for public consultation on improving the integrity of GST on property transactions, as announced in the 2017-18 Budget. The exposure draft bill amends the GST law so that from 1 July 2018, purchasers will withhold the GST on the purchase price of new residential premises and new residential subdivisions, and remit the GST directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as part of settlement. The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, said this measure will address tax evasion through phoenixing arrangements, where developers collect GST from their customers but dissolve their company to avoid paying it to
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is today reporting about information they have in relation to offshore law firm Appleby. The ATO has been working closely for several months with our partner agencies here and overseas in anticipation of a data release by the ICIJ. These relationships have enabled the ATO to commence analysis of the intelligence received to identify possible Australian links. Deputy Commissioner International, Mark Konza said that the ATO is at the forefront of international co-operation and engagement and is regularly acquiring new sources of data and intelligence, which bolsters information we already have. “ATO intelligence on tax avoidance