The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is pushing all taxpayers with offshore assets to declare their interests before it starts a global clampdown on tax evasion.
The ATO is starting a voluntary disclosure programme that gives taxpayers who have not declared their overseas assets and income one last chance to return to the system before December 2014 with a heavily reduced penalty, or else risk heavy penalties.
"As governments around the world step up their data sharing and harness powerful technology to find tax cheats, the concept of the ‘tax haven' is dying. It's just a matter of time before you'll be caught," taxation commissioner Chris Jordan said.
Titled "Project DO IT: disclose offshore income today", it does not alter the compliance action carried out on an ongoing basis.
In a speech at the Tax Institute of Australia Annual Convention, Jordan said a four-year compliance program on international structuring and profit sharing has already spotted 86 high-risk cases for investigation.
"If you are going to use ‘on the edge' minimisation strategies in Australia, we are going to make our presence felt — we will check everything you do and we won't walk away."
Jordan also wants to establish a new relationship with taxpayers, including the ATO playing a bigger role in developing tax law.
"We will advocate more strongly for change when we see laws not working well in operation, representing the voice of the community when we see that legislative change is needed," Jordan said.
