The Government has released draft legislation with regard to measures to address the black economy on the Treasury website, and stakeholders are invited to provide their views by Friday 10 November 2017.

In the 2017-18 Budget, the Government responded to the Black Economy Taskforce’s Interim Report by announcing the following measures to address the growing economic and social problem of the black economy:

  • Banning the manufacture, distribution, possession, use or sale of sales suppression technology. This technology allows businesses to understate their income, and has been identified as a threat to the integrity of the tax system in Australia and internationally.
  • Extending the Taxable Payment Reporting System (TPRS) to two high-risk industries – cleaning and couriers – to ensure payments made to contractors in these sectors are reported to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The TPRS has already improved tax compliance in the building and construction industry.

The package of documents includes the exposure draft and explanatory material for each measure. Additionally, the measure extending the Taxable Payments Reporting System is supported by ATO draft guidance material to provide further detail on the operation of the measure.

The draft legislation and supporting materials are available here.

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