New ATO Squad Prepares Offensive Against Tax Shelters

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

31 July 2003

The ATO (Australian Tax Office) has again warned high income earners that a special division has been created to tackle users of "aggressive" tax minimisation schemes, with a particular focus on wealthy professionals.

The head of the new squad, first assistant commissioner Michael Monaghan has revealed that an early target will be those who "persistently and almost in contempt" defied the tax system with "aggressive, bordering on illegal" minimisation methods.

One group that will come under Monaghan's spotlight is lawyers and barristers. According to a government report published in May of this year, some 89 lawyers were included on a list of 200 professionals who failed to file income tax returns or used bankruptcy to evade $20 million in taxes in the five years up to 2001.

Monaghan's team will consist of 400 tax investigators including assistant commissioners Chris Barlow of the small business section, and John McNamara from the excise department. "We will be targeting people who are persistently in contempt of the tax system, people who have not lodged for many years and who actively seek to not participate," revealed Monaghan, who added the team will utilise third party data such as the 'Austrack' transaction tracking authority, superannuation data and professional registers to apprehend suspects.

The squad will also investigate more organised tax crimes such as fraudulent GST claims and identity theft.

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