Large companies, single contractors and the taxi and hospitality sectors may find themselves under the Australian Tax Office microscope at the end of this financial year.
CPA WA president Ron Metcalf said the ATO would closely scrutinise a number of issues and industries.
Mr Metcalf said the ATO would crack down on aggressive tax planning by companies through mechanisms such as employee benefit schemes, controlling interest arrangements and offshore and non-complying superannuation funds.
Particular attention will be paid to the losses of large companies to make sure those losses had not been artificially created through dealings within a company group.
“The ATO will also look closely at the ‘Phoenix Phenomenon’ in which some companies close and then reopen business without paying PAYE and/or PPS,” Mr Metcalf said.
Taxi operators, restaurant and cafe employers and their employees will also come in for special ATO attention.
“The ATO’s Taxi Industry Profile Teams are finding that taxi operators are not keeping proper records of income,” Mr Metcalf said .
“Taxis returning gross takings below the ATO taxi vehicle estimated earnings profile of 76 cents per kilometre will be targeted.”
Mr Metcalf said the restaurant and cafe industry would also be examined to make sure employees declared cash wages and employers were deducting and forwarding tax instalments to the tax office.
Single contractors who operate as a company or trust, but who consult to only one client, will also come to the ATO’s attention, he said.
Other areas to be scrutinised include rental property deductions, with a number of cases to be chosen for random audit, and work-related expenses.
