The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has advised that they will be increasing their efforts to bridge the Goods & Services Tax (GST) tax gap, resulting in an increased focus on GST compliance.

The ATO estimates that the GST tax gap is about $6 billion which is why the ATO will be increasing audits to enhance GST collections.

The ATO has outlined some criteria as to how they will select businesses for audit, these include:

• Size of turnover and GST liability.
• Notable deviations from previous GST lodgements.
• Previous compliance history.
• Repeatedly late lodgements, extension requests and late payments.
• Retail industries and those with high volumes of cash transactions.
• Property and other sectors involving large, complex transactions.
• Financial records that deviated from industry norms.
• Misalignments between income tax and GST records.
• The size and frequency of GST refunds.

Kindly note that accurate and timely preparation and lodgement of activity statements may not preclude you or your business from an audit or review.

This year we have partnered with AuditCover so our clients can ensure professional fees (up to a set limit) are covered when responding to an audit. Many of our clients have already taken our cover. If you would like to get a quote, please complete the online form here. 

Otherwise, contact us if you would like to receive a pre-filled quote.

For more information on AuditCover, we ask you to please visit our website.

As always, do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

SaabTeece