The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, confirmed the current Government’s commitment to combating and punishing tax avoiding activities conducted through tax evasion schemes.
Some key highlights of the announcement are:
- the identification of more than 100 Australians with links to Swiss banking relationship managers who are considered to be ‘high risk’
- the identification of 578 Australians holding unnamed numbered accounts with a Swiss bank and
- working with AUSTRAC, the ATO identified over 100 taxpayers who have had 5,000 cross-border transactions worth over $900 million in the past 10 years.
The ATO is currently investigating the systems taxpayers are using to conceal and transfer wealth anonymously in order to evade their tax obligations in Australia.
These statistics highlight the Government’s approach in investigating tax avoidance activities through its multi-agency approach and international partnerships.