Black economy, audio grabs

The black economy includes things like demanding or paying for work cash in hand, not reporting or under-reporting income, illegal phoenixing, sham contracting, underpayment of wages and illegal drugs and tobacco.

Transcripts and Audio

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_014 (MP3 395KB)This link will download a file

The black economy is an economic and social issue that affects all of us. The Black Economy Taskforce estimated that the black economy is costing the community as much as $50 billion, which is approximately three percent of Gross Domestic Product. This is money that the community is missing out on for vital public services like schools, welfare, roads, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_015 (MP3 693KB)This link will download a file

Our tax system funds the services that benefit all of us. The Australian way of life depends on everyone paying the right amount of tax.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_016 (MP3 259KB)This link will download a file

Businesses who operate in the black economy are undercutting competitors and gaining an unfair advantage. Participating in the black economy is not okay.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_017 (MP3 293KB)This link will download a file

Businesses who pay cash in hand, or fail to lodge income tax returns or business activity statements, get an unfair advantage and make it harder for other businesses that are doing the right thing. By detecting and addressing this behaviour, we’re helping to keep things fair for honest small businesses.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_018 (MP3 494KB)This link will download a file

We’re seeing an upwards trend in the number of referrals to our tip-off line from people who know or suspect phoenix, tax evasion or black economy behaviour, which suggests that the community, as well as honest businesses, have had enough of those who are cheating the system and getting an unfair advantage.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_019 (MP3 506KB)This link will download a file

We value referrals from the community. Tip-offs are assessed and reviewed by experienced staff. If you think someone is doing the wrong thing, let us know. Go to ato.gov.au/TipOff, the ‘contact us’ section in the ATO app, or phone 1800 060 062. All tip-offs are private and you can remain anonymous.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_020 (MP3 687KB)This link will download a file

Our small business benchmarks can help small businesses in more than one hundred industries compare their performance with similar businesses. We want small businesses to succeed, so our benchmarks are a great way to see if there is anything you may need to improve on.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_021 (MP3 413KB)This link will download a file

The quickest and easiest way to work out how your business compares is by using the business performance check tool in the ATO app, which does the calculations for you.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_022 (MP3 291KB)This link will download a file

We use small business benchmark data to help us identify small businesses who may be doing the wrong thing and not properly reporting some or all of their income.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_023 (MP3 290KB)This link will download a file

We know that most people and businesses do the right thing, but we are exploring better ways to use new and existing sources of data to more effectively target those who are deliberately operating in the black economy.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_024 (MP3 382KB)This link will download a file

Benchmark data is drawn from over one and a half million small businesses around the country, so businesses can confidently calculate the benchmark ranges for their industry.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_025 (MP3 329KB)This link will download a file

Businesses operating outside the benchmarks may trigger a red flag. This could be an indicator that they could be engaging in the black economy.

Peter Holt; Black economy, audio download. BE_general_026 (MP3 240KB)This link will download a file