With the ride-sharing service operating in full force in Australia, the dispute as to whether GST should be applicable on rides has continued, culminating in drivers clearly warned to register and account for GST from 1 August 2015.
In order to target GST and income tax avoidance the ATO has announced it will obtain the details of payments made to drivers through bank accounts held by “ride-sourcing facilitators”.
This data will subsequently be matched with tax office records to catch out those drivers not disclosing income and not paying income tax.
Mark Chapman, director of tax communications with H&R Block, noted it is now much easier for the ATO to keep tabs on Uber drivers once they have registered.
Not just settling for drivers, eBay traders have also been placed under the ATO microscope.
Those sellers who sold goods and services of $10,000 or more during the 2014/15 financial year will also have their data obtained by the tax office to ascertain those individuals who have failed to account for income tax and GST.
“The whole focus on newer, tech-focused businesses like Uber and eBay shows that after several years struggling to keep up with online business models, the ATO is looking to rapidly make up lost ground to ensure people in these sectors are taxed in the same way as people operating through traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ business models,” Mr Chapman concluded.