- The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce is focusing on GST refund fraud
- Businesses are warned against using related-party structuring and false invoicing to manipulate tax systems
- Increasing cases of fraudulent high-value GST refunds are being observed, involving real and fictitious transactions
- Sophisticated arrangements are used to obscure transactions and disguise fraudulent activities for high-value GST refunds
- Industry networks are exploiting GST rules through complex related-party transactions
- Common fraudulent practices include false invoicing, misaligned GST accounting methods, duplicating GST credit claims, and claiming credits for non-existent purchases
- The property and construction sectors are particularly affected, but the issue is spreading across other sectors
- Fraudulent activities are often used to fund further business purchases or manage cash flow
- The Taskforce aims to maintain fairness by targeting these fraudulent behaviors
- Artificial arrangements to exploit GST rules are considered fraud and may lead to tax crimes
- The Taskforce is focusing on compliance actions and potential criminal investigations to address these issues
Source: ato.gov.au
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
