ATO focusing on helping retail businesses get their tax and super right

Over the past few years, the ATO has been visiting businesses around Australia in an effort to ensure Aussie business owners have the support and information they need to get their tax and super right.

From Batemans Bay and Mandurah, to Sydney and Melbourne, these visits are part of a broader program by the ATO to establish fairness for honest businesses and to level the playing field by tackling the ‘cash and hidden economy’.

The retail industry has a higher proportion of businesses dealing in cash transactions, which unfortunately makes it easier to avoid obligations by not inaccurately recording earnings.

The cash and hidden economy has a widespread impact on society and the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that it accounts for about $21 billion that could be used for schools, roads and hospitals.

The ATO has implemented a range of effective measures to prevent, detect and deter cash and hidden economy activities. This includes data matching techniques, small business benchmarking, reviews and audits and fines and prosecutions.

Businesses that don’t pay the correct amount of tax are making it harder for other businesses to thrive and are not contributing to the community like everyone else. Businesses need to be doing the right thing by their employees, paying their wages and super correctly, to look after those who help them to succeed. 

Relying too heavily on cash can also be a risk for business. There’s a higher chance of robbery and employee theft as cash is easier to steal and harder to trace, and having to manually count your earnings and reconcile sales means more admin work and room for error.

The ATO will be promoting to businesses the benefits of electronic record keeping and payment systems, ensuring they are doing the right thing. 

Businesses that take cash payments are encouraged to invest in an electronic payment facility to make payments quicker and easier, as well as help them to track their business activities and keep accurate records.

For information on where the ATO is visiting and the businesses they’re focusing on, visit ato.gov.au/protectinghonestbusiness

Keep your money safe, check out ato.gov.au/electronicrecordkeeping