Australian Taxation Office Mines Data For Undisclosed Offshore Income And Assets

Information in an Australian Tax Office press release last Monday indicates that information designed to identify undeclared assets and income will be “mined” from:
• overseas tax authorities regarding Australians with offshore investments and bank accounts;
• Australian and foreign banks on fund flows, interest and account balances;
• informants about offshore accounts; and
• money transfers to and from offshore bank accounts.
In the press release, Deputy Commissioner Michael Cranston said “…the new information would be used to encourage people to disclose under Project DO IT, the ATO’s offshore disclosure initiative.”
As well as targeting the “usual suspect” offshore centres, the ATO is indicating it’s data mining will also focus on Israel, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Details of the ATO’s Project Do-It amnesty can be viewed HERE.