A leading tax expert has urged Australians to be careful not to be "bullied" this year by the Australian Revenue Service (ATO).
Chapman (Mark Chapman), head of tax communications at Hor Block, who has been a senior director at ATO for seven years, said ATO will now be particularly focused on combating "systematic abuse" of work costs, suspicious declarations and encrypted currency.
Tax officials say millions of Australians have dubious filings and spend more than 2.5 billion yuan a year. But Mr. Chapman said ATO's own guidance policies are often vague and employees should declare boldly.
"ATO has indicated that there are a lot of fraud in job-related tax rebates, but we have some uncertainty about things, especially the cost of telephones and networks, and people are now working in a different way," he said. The amount of tax rebate you declare will change accordingly. "
The number of people using mobile phones is increasing as part of their work. As a result, the number of mobile phone-related tax returns is also on the rise. We don't fully recognize fraud, we just think that the way we work is changing. "
Following the three Golden rules will keep you from violating IRD policy, Chapman said.
"make sure that everything you declare is related to your job, keep your records, make sure you have expenses and the employer has not reimbursed you," he said.
"Don't be afraid to declare what you have the right to declare. ATO people claim to be looking into phone, Internet and job-related uniforms, and don't be bullied by them. You just declare what you should refund, and don't feel like you've been dishonest. "
Take a small book of work-related calls and Internet usage dates and times, and circle the bill for work-related calls, Chapman suggests.
Earlier this month, Assistant Director Anderson (Kath Anderson) said ATO would keep an eye on "other" work-related expenses this year, with 6.7 million taxpayers reporting a record 7.9 billion yuan in this category last year.
Chapman said that while daily office clothing cannot be seen as work-related, certain items, such as work uniforms and safety gear, can be declared. Outdoor workers also have the right to declare things like sunscreen, hats and even sunglasses.
Meanwhile, the Australian newspaper revealed that ATO will use new anti-money-laundering laws to combat tax fraud by bitcoin investors.
Starting next month, ATO will use mandatory 100-point identification checks, and ATO staff will be able to implement data matching techniques to investigate encrypted currency investors.
Chapman said it was a "fuzzy zone". "A lot of people don't understand their tax obligations at all, but it's important to realize that there's a tax obligation around capital gains and income tax, depending on the nature of your investment or transaction," he said.
"if you are going to deal with encrypted currencies, you should seek professional advice because the ATO's guidance policy is so complicated that you should not try it out."