On 10 October 2018, the ATO uploaded advice that a 58-year old Reservoir man has been sentenced, in the County Court of Victoria, to 4 years and 2 months’ jail for more than $1 million of tax fraud committed while he was the director of a company. He was also ordered to pay tax, interest and penalties of $884,496 to the ATO.
In 2015, ATO officers audited the man’s transport company and uncovered more than $1 million in fraudulent GST refund claims he made in BASs lodged between 2009 and 2015. Over this period, the ATO said the man lodged 74 BASs in which he fraudulently claimed $1,084,274 in GST refunds.
In order to legitimately accrue more than $1 million in GST refunds, the ATO said the man would have had to have spent a minimum of $11.9 million on goods or services needed to run his transport business. Despite the company appearing to have no commercial business activity, the man’s GST claims grew over time to $19,000 a month at their highest point in 2015. The Court found these claims to be entirely fraudulent, the ATO said.
ATO Deputy Commissioner Will Day said it was astounding that anyone thought they could get away with such brazen fraud against the tax system. “This wasn’t an honest mistake by a small business owner trying to do the right thing – it was a calculated and deliberate attempt to commit fraud and steal money from taxpayers,” Mr Day said.
FJM 13.10.18
[ATO website: jail for fraud post; LTN 195, 10/10/18; Tax Month – October 2018]
CPD questions (answers available)
- Was a man jailed for GST fraud?
- Was the fraud for over $1m in refunds?
- Were the BASs being lodged quarterly from 2009 to 2015?
- Did the business have $11.9m of expenditure?
- Was the man also ordered to pay $0.88m of tax?
