Newsletter
June Newsletter
ATO targeting online sellers
The ATO has announced a data-matching program targeting eBay online sellers. Broadly, the ATO is looking at and testing correct tax reporting by taxpayers and identifying areas that require improved educational and compliance strategies in order to encourage voluntary compliance by individuals. The ATO says it will gather data from eBay Australia & New Zealand Pty Ltd relating to registrants who sold goods and services of a total value of $10,000 or more in either or both of the financial years 2011–2012 and 2012–2013. It is expected that records relating to between 15,000 and 25,000 individuals per financial year will be matched.
TIP: The ATO says it will contact individuals and businesses that it identifies as being at risk of running part of their business “off the books” or in other ways that result in them not reporting all their income. It says individuals will be given the opportunity to respond to the information it collects before any administrative action is taken.