The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is cracking down on Aussies who invent fake businesses to claim false refunds.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning Aussies, and local communities, not to engage in tax fraud and to be wary of criminals tricking people or stealing their personal information.
The ATO has worked closely with banks and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to identify a recent spike in suspicious refunds.
Through Operation Protego, it is investigating approximately $850 million in potentially fraudulent payments made to approximately 40,000 people, with an average amount reported fraudulently of $20,000.
Intelligence information is sent by the banks to the ATO, which in turn has identified suspicious tax refunds.
Many scams see offenders attempting to obtain a fake GST refund by creating fake business and Australian business numbers (ABN) and then submitting false business claims (BAS).
The ATO is reminding the Australian’s that:
- Backdating when a fake business is set up to seek a refund will flag you as high-risk and we will take action
- False declarations may impact eligibility for other government payments
- We have the data-matching ability to detect these patterns and stop the fraud
- Stealing from the ATO is not a victimless crime, you are stealing from people in need of government support and people using public services, such as schools and hospitals
- The ATO shares information with a range of government partners when responding to fraud, including law-enforcement agencies
- If you engage in tax fraud, you will be caught
“We are working with financial institutions who have frozen suspected fraudulent amounts in bank accounts,” the ATO said in a statement.
The ATO said it had also stopped many more attempted frauds.
The ATO is warning people not to engage in this behaviour, and for participants to come forward and avoid further consequence and potential criminal action.
Law enforcement agencies are also working closely with the ATO to bring criminal action against those who deliberately and willingly partake in fraud schemes.
The fraud involves offenders inventing fake businesses and Australian Business Number (ABN) applications, many in their own names, then submitting fictitious Business Activity Statements in an attempt to gain a false GST refund.
The ATO’s deputy commissioner and chief of the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce, Will Day, says many people are sharing techniques for fraud on various social media platforms.
“We are working with social media platforms to help remove content promoting this fraud, but if you see something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Mr Day says.
“The people who have participated in this fraud are not anonymous – we know who they are and we will be taking action.”
“We are urging anyone involved to face the music and come forward now, rather than face even tougher consequences later including penalties and criminal charges.”
Day said the ATO was urging anyone involved in tax fraud to “face the music” and come forward now rather than face tougher consequences later – including criminal charges.
“Unfortunately, as we take action to protect revenue, some legitimate taxpayers may find they have to take extra steps to receive their legitimate refunds as we have put extra controls in place as a result of this fraud,” Day said.
He also understands that some people may have unknowingly been caught up in fraudulent tax transactions.
“People who have participated in this fraud may have unwittingly followed advice they have read online, claiming to help access a loan from the ATO, or receive other financial government support such as a disaster payment,” says Mr Day.
Mr Day acknowledges that legitimate taxpayers may receive their refunds with a delay due to the additional steps put into the process to deter and prevent fraudulent refunds from being paid out.
