Tax Avoidance Taskforce

About the Tax Avoidance Taskforce

The Tax Avoidance Taskforce (taskforce) aims to prevent, detect and address tax avoidance to ensure the largest and wealthiest taxpayers pay the right amount of tax in Australia. Formed in 2016, it enhances and extends our existing activities to eradicate illegal and fraudulent tax arrangements. The taskforce bolsters our pre-existing efforts in tackling tax avoidance.

The taskforce aims to:

• detect tax avoidance to protect revenue and maintain the integrity of the tax system
• increase transparency about how we assess risk and administer the tax system
• develop a better understanding of commercial drivers and the industries in which taxpayers operate
• improve our data, analytics, risk, and intelligence capabilities to identify and manage tax avoidance risk
• keep the community informed of our work in making public and private groups and wealthy individuals pay the right amount of tax in Australia
• work with the Treasury on administrative law design to aid development of new legislative policies or improvements in current legislation
• seeking opportunities to clarify the law through strategic litigation
• helping private and public groups to comply with their obligations by providing timely and tailored guidance on key topics and communicating the ATO’s position about contentious aspects of the law.

We are also focused on targeting promoters of tax schemes who support or promote unlawful tax schemes.

The Australian Government funded the taskforce with $679 million over 4 years in 2016. In the 2019–20 federal Budget, a further $1 billion extended the operation of the taskforce to 2022–23. The extra funding was used to expand our risk, assurance, and compliance strategies. It also increased our coverage across multinationals, public groups, private groups, wealthy Australians, and inappropriate trust arrangements, including those that advise this population.

In the March 2022 Budget, the taskforce was extended for a further 2 years, to 2024-25 with additional funding of $652 million.

Further to this funding, and in acknowledgement of the success of the taskforce, the October 2022 Budget extended and expanded the taskforce through to 30 June 2026 with a total of $1.1 billion of extra funding over the 4-year period. This funding was provided to expand our coverage and includes new focus areas such as private equity.

The taskforce has a strong focus on the Top 1,100 public and multinational businesses and the Top 500 privately owned groups. These groups are responsible for generating more than two-thirds of all corporate tax. The taskforce's tax assurance and compliance program also covers all 5,000 high wealth private groups that control net wealth exceeding $50 million and public and multinational businesses outside of our justified trust programs.

Results

As of 30 June 2023, the taskforce has helped the ATO raise $32.7 billion in tax liabilities. This revenue is used by the government to fund essential services, which may include education, health, and other community services.

The taskforce helped raise the following tax liabilities from public groups and multinationals by financial year:

• 2016–17 was $4.1 billion
• 2017–18 was $3 billion
• 2018–19 was $2 billion
• 2019–20 was $2.5 billion
• 2020–21 was $3.0 billion
• 2021-22 was $2.9 billion
• 2022-23 was $2.6 billion

The taskforce helped raise the following tax liabilities from privately owned and wealthy groups (including trusts and promoters):

• 2016–17 was $1.1 billion
• 2017–18 was $1.8 billion
• 2018–19 was $1.4 billion
• 2019–20 was $1.8 billion
• 2020–21 was $1.5 billion
• 2021-22 was $1.8 billion
• 22-23 was $2.5 billion

From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2023, the taskforce has helped collect a total of $18.1 billion in cash.

Audit matters reported in the public domain include Apple, Ampol, BHP, Chevron, Facebook, Rio Tinto, Pepsico, Glencore, Microsoft, News Corp, Orica, Valeant, IBM, Singtel, Exxon, and Google. We welcome the transparency of the companies that have publicly stated they have settled their tax affairs with the ATO. All have made a significant contribution to the revenue in Australia.

We also continued our focus on the promoters of tax schemes with our engagement with Ernst & Young reported in the public domain.

The taskforce has also done substantial compliance work on the e-commerce and digital economy industry.

Compliance programs

The taskforce has a focus on:

• optimising tax performance of large corporate groups and ensure they pay the right amount of tax, with an increased focus on medium and emerging publicly listed businesses and multinationals.
• increasing scrutiny on private groups and high wealth individuals. The focus will improve tax governance and reduce profit shifting and failing to disclose foreign-sourced income.
• pursuing intermediaries and promoters of tax avoidance schemes. This will allow the ATO to expand its reach through increased population coverage and intensity of existing capabilities.
• preventing abuse of trusts and high-risk trust arrangements. The ATO will invest in tools to maximise the value of data and enhance transparency in relation to trust distributions.
• improving risk detection and treatment. Improve and streamline new and previously underutilised data, enhancing the ability to make data informed decisions.
• flexibility to address emerging risks. The taskforce will evolve and tailor current programs of work and use new approaches to respond to new and emerging risks in tax avoidance.

The programs led by the Tax Avoidance Taskforce include:

• Adviser strategy
• Base Erosion and Profit Shifting – hybrid mismatch rules
• Base Erosion and Profit Shifting – implementation
• Base Erosion and Profit Shifting – transparency initiatives
• Commercial Deals
• Criminal Law Program
• Diverted profits tax
• Foreign Investment Program
• International risk private groups
• International risk public groups
• Medium and emerging private groups tax performance program
• Medium and emerging public groups tax performance program
• Next 5,000 private groups tax performance program
• Private Equity Domestic
• Private Equity International
• Promoters and Tax Exploitation Program
• Top 100 justified trust program
• Top 500 private groups tax performance program
• Top 1,000 combined assurance program
• Next Actions public
• Trusts program
• Wealth program

Engagement and assurance

The taskforce comprises of experts with tax, legal and accounting backgrounds.

We work closely with the largest businesses to ensure they pay the right amount of tax. We engage with them early and help them to ensure they are meeting their obligations.

These programs aim to:

• support willing participation, focusing on prevention rather than correction
• help taxpayers get things right
• decide on and deal with non-compliance.

We provide regular updates to the community on what we are seeing, including detailed finding reports for:

• Top 100 justified trust program
• Reportable tax position
• Top 1,000 income tax and GST assurance programs
• Top 500 private groups tax performance program
• Next 5,000 program
• Public and multinational business settlements
• Public and multinational business advice and guidance program

Other updates include:

• Corporate Tax Transparency
• Multinationals
• Business Bulletin

We also engage clients affected by new legislation from the earliest possible point. We will help them understand the new legislation and support them to meet their new or changed obligations.

The taskforce is committed to transparency about how we assess risk and administer the system. Along with the transparency and accountability obligations required by Australian law, we have implemented the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's BEPS transparency initiatives.

Legislation

The taskforce implements legislation to ensure businesses pay the right amount of tax in Australia:

• Multinational anti-avoidance law (MAAL)
• Diverted profits tax (DPT)
• Country-by-country reporting
• General purpose financial statements (GPFS)
• Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
• Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
• Multilateral Instrument (MLI)
• Significant global entities
• OECD hybrid mismatch rules

Report schemes or concerning behaviour

To report any scheme or concerning behaviour, confidentially by:

• completing the tip-off form on our website or in the ATO app 'contact us' section
• phone our tip-off hotline on 1800 060 062.

Media releases

2023 media releases:

• ATO welcomes decision in Pepsi vs Commissioner of Taxation
• ATO lodges application in Federal Court against former EY tax partner
• ATO secures additional $6.4 billion from large corporates
• ATO settles dispute over Singapore hub

2024 media releases:

• ATO successful in SingTel case
• ATO welcomes SGSP (Australia) Assets Pty Ltd (Jemena) settlement
• Advisers setting the standard for integrity

Join us

Be part of the Tax Avoidance Taskforce and help to prevent, detect and address tax avoidance to ensure the largest and wealthiest taxpayers pay the right amount of tax in Australia.

We are looking for the best and brightest! A career at the ATO provides challenging, interesting, and diverse opportunities for you.

The work you do will be meaningful, rewarding and make a difference to the lives of Australians.

Read about the Tax and data specialist roles we have on offer.