Credit & Debit Card Data Matching
The ATO has advised that for the 2014-2015 financial year details will be requested from eleven Australian financial institutions of all credit and debit card payments received by merchants for the 2014-15 financial year. The ATO will match the institutions data against ATO records to identify businesses that may not be meeting their registration, reporting, lodgement and/or payment obligations. The data matching will include bank merchant
The objectives of the credit and debit data matching program are to:
*promote voluntary compliance with taxation obligations and increase awareness in the community of the ways the ATO uses data matching to address non-compliance
*identify liquidated or de-registered businesses that are continuing to trade
*identifying ‘cash only’ businesses, by exception
*assist the ATO in building intelligence about businesses including broader risk, trend and strategic analysis
*ensure compliance with registration, lodgement, correct reporting and payment of taxation obligations
*to identify liquidated or de-registered businesses that are continuing to trade (phoenix operators)
In certain circumstances the ATO will provide information from individual record to other agencies state and territory revenue authorities and law enforcement agencies.
Department of Human Services Data Matching
The ATO has advised that it will collect information from the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the following benefits and entitlements:
* family tax benefits – part B;
* paid parental leave scheme;
* carers' allowance; and
* Medicare entitlement statements.
This data will be compared with claims made in income tax returns for the invalid carer tax offset, and for exemptions from paying the Medicare levy and surcharge. The program will enable the ATO to detect those who are NOT genuinely entitled to claim these offsets and exemptions. Due to a number of legislative changes in recent years, some people continue to claim these offsets and exemptions incorrectly. The ATO says that it has been undertaking this data matching program for more than five years and intends to continue conducting it for a further three years.
It is not part of the two enhanced welfare payment integrity measures announced in the 2015-16 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook but is to identify peoples entitlement to offsets and exemptions administered through the taxation system.
