Data matching to be expanded on individual returns
The ATO has advised that last year, it cross-referenced information reported in tax returns against over 600 million transactions provided to it by third parties to identify omitted income and gains, or incorrectly-claimed offsets or entitlements to exemption from surcharges.
It also contacted nearly 400,000 taxpayers who had apparent discrepancies in the information they reported in their tax returns.
The ATO said that traditionally, it has focused on areas such as omitted interest and employment income, but this year it is expanding its data matching to encompass a greater range of areas, such as:
capital gains tax (CGT) from the disposal of shares and property;
employment-related foreign source income; and
contractor income from payments made by government agencies
