Public can bank on tax office says Jordan

The Commissioner of Taxation, Chris Jordan has assured the public it can have confidence in the compliance approach the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is taking to its wealthiest taxpayers.

Following the release of tax details relating to about 300 private companies with incomes of $200 million or more, Mr Jordan said such transparency gave the community the chance to see a small part of the corporate tax data the ATO held.

“It is also an opportunity for us to talk about how we engage with these companies and the confidence we have in our compliance approach,” Mr Jordan said.

“In future we will release data relating to both Australian-owned resident private companies and public and foreign-owned corporate tax entities concurrently.”

He said, however, that if no tax was paid this did not necessarily mean tax avoidance was occurring.

“At the ATO, we risk assess 100 per cent of the privately owned and wealthy group population to ensure companies comply with their tax obligations,” Mr Jordan said.

“A key characteristic of private groups is that they are part of complex group structures.”

He said the ATO took a whole-of-group view when assessing tax owed.

Mr Jordan said the Office worked closely with private companies and undertook a large suite of activities to ensure they met their tax obligations, including reviews and audits as well as education.

“While most do the right thing, we closely investigate any companies with unusual financial or taxation numbers,” the Commissioner said.

“The community can be assured that the ATO’s risk and intelligence systems are working continuously to maintain the integrity of our tax system.”