- Overview
- Why we look at online selling data
- Program objectives
- How we use the data
- Public notification of the program
- Our lawful role
- How we undertake data matching
- Why we undertake data-matching
Overview
The Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) online selling data-matching program has been in place since 2008.
This protocol consolidates the existing online selling data matching programs for:
- 2015–16 to 2017–18 financial years (gazetted 26 September 2016)
- 2014–15 financial year data (gazetted 8 October 2015).
The protocol outlines our approach to collecting a further three years of online selling data. This will be up to and including the 2022–23 financial year.
We developed the program to ensure businesses and individuals selling goods and services online are:
- registering correctly with us
- lodging their returns
- reporting the payments they receive
- paying the correct amount of tax.
We have collected details of online selling platforms registrants who sold goods or services with a total annual value of:
- $12,000 or more for the 2015–16 to 2017–18 financial years
- $10,000 or more for the 2014–15 financial year.
Our data-matching programs follow the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014). These guidelines assist Australian Government agencies to use data-matching as an administrative tool in a way that complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). They are consistent with good privacy practice.
The ATO has responsibility to protect public revenue and to maintain community confidence in the integrity of the tax system. Our data-matching programs assist us to undertake these responsibilities.