Treasury takes dark view of black economy

Companies tendering to do business with the Australian Government are to be required to prove they have a satisfactory taxation record under new measures announced by the Treasury to clamp down on the so-called black economy.

In a statement issued after this week’s Budget, Treasury said the black economy undermined community trust in the tax system; gave some businesses an unfair competitive advantage over others; put pressure on honest businesses; and often led to the exploitation of vulnerable employees.

It said that from 1 July 2019, businesses tendering for Commonwealth contracts in excess of $4 million would be required to provide evidence of a satisfactory tax record.

It said the reforms followed recommendations made by the Black Economy Taskforce in its final report to the Government and would be complemented by a comprehensive suite of supporting measures.

The taskforce was established in December 2016 to examine how to best crack down on illegal black economy activity.

Treasury said the next step would be to establish a multi-Agency Black Economy Standing Taskforce to undertake a cross-Agency approach to combatting the black economy.

It said this would make for a more effective exchange of information to develop increased intelligence, equipping the new body to identify and prosecute the most egregious cases of black economy activity.

“Additional funding for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will expand its data analytics and data-matching capabilities.”

It said mobile strike teams were also planned to break-up illegal behaviour as it was identified.

Treasury said that on 1 July, 2019 it would introduce an economy-wide cash payment limit of $10,000, applying to payments made to businesses for goods and services.

This cash payment limit would capture high-value transactions and help stamp out opportunities for criminals to launder the proceeds of crime into goods and services, or for businesses to hide transactions to reduce their tax liabilities,” it said.

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