ATO data matching programs

As you may recall from earlier newsletters we have highlighted to clients that the ATO is extremely active with data matching.  Basically data matching enables the ATO to cross check data from various sources in an attempt to identify potential non disclosure of income etc.  Improvements in technology now allow the ATO to do this very quickly and efficiently.

This data matching program allows information from a variety of sources to be brought together to identify businesses operating in the cash economy, including data from banks that identify credit card and EFTPOS sales made by Australian businesses.

The ATO believe that these businesses (that accept cash) may ‘skim’ some or all of their cash takings, run part of their business off the books or not report all their income. The data obtained is then compared with taxpayer information and the ATO’s small business benchmarks to identify businesses which have not reported all their income.

Businesses identified at risk of potentially under reporting their income will be contacted and encouraged to make a voluntary disclosure of any under reported amounts.

Other areas the ATO will be accessing data from are:

Merchant Payment Cards Data Matching Project

The Tax Office will electronically match data relating to merchant card sales of entities within various cash economy industries.  Records relating to approximately 300,000 individuals within cash economy industries will be matched.

Motor Vehicle Data Matching Project

The Tax Office will collect details of individuals or entities that have purchased or acquired a motor vehicle valued at $10,000 or higher from the Transport Authority in each State and Territory. Records relating to approximately 2.5 million individuals will be matched.

Banking Transparency Strategy

The Tax Office will collect data and intelligence on Australian resident taxpayers that have offshore accounts in jurisdictions that are of interest to the ATO directly from financial institutions that operate in Australia.

The Australian Taxation Office will approach the following sources:

Australian Financial Institutions:  Such as AMP, ANZ, WBC, NAB, CBA, Macquarie, Suncorp-Metway, etc.

International Financial Institutions in Australia:  Such as ABN Amro, Arab Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JBWere, etc.

Credit/Debit Card Providers:  Such as American Express, Diners Card, MasterCard and Visa.

International Clearing Houses:  Such as Cardlink, Cashcard, Firserv, First Data Resources, Pulse Int, etc.

Note: The above list is only a small taste of the numbers of institutions that will be contacted.

It is expected that records of in excess of 100,000 individuals and entities received from these financial institutions will be matched.