Tax office in cafe cash economy crackdown

Therese Allaoui,
August 25, 2016
Herald Sun
RESTAURANTS and cafes ripping off staff by underpaying their wages in cash may need to start looking over their shoulders as more Victorians dob in dodgy owners.
Tax dodging and under-paying wages through cash-in-hand payments is rife in the Victorian hospitality industry, but thousands of people are reporting suspected illegal activity, according to the Australian Taxation Office.
An ATO spokesman said there was a “high level of community concern”.
“The hospitality industry, including restaurants, cafes and takeaways, is an industry in focus for the ATO’s cash and hidden economy program due to issues such as cash wages, not reporting income and failing to lodge activity statements on time,” he said.
In the 2015-16 financial year, the ATO received 8345 tip-offs from the Victorian public about tax matters. Of these, 674 businesses were in hospitality, while almost 400 of these calls were reporting “business making cash-in-hand payments and not meeting consumer obligations”.
“The ATO continues to visit restaurants, cafes and take-aways in various regions,” the spokesman said.