Gazette notice: Commissioner of Taxation – Notice of a ride sourcing data-matching program 21 April 2023
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire ride sourcing data to identify individuals that may be engaged in providing ride sourcing services during the 2022–23 financial year.
The data items include:
■ identification details (driver identifier; ABN, driver name; birth date; mobile phone number; email address; address)
■ transaction details (bank account details, aggregated payment details, gross fares, net amount paid to driver, and all other income to which GST may or may not apply to) of all payments received in the relevant period.
We estimate that records relating to approximately 200,000 individuals will be obtained each financial year.
The data in this program will be used to identify and inform ride sourcing providers (drivers) of their tax obligations as part of information and education campaigns.
The data may also be used as part of the methodologies by which we select taxpayers for compliance activities.
The ATO does not use data from ride sourcing facilitators to initiate automated action or activities.
The objectives of the ride sourcing data-matching program are to:
■ promote voluntary compliance and increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems
■ assist with profiling to provide compliance staff with a holistic view of a taxpayer's income
■ identify and educate individuals who may be failing to meet their registration or lodgment obligations and assist them to comply
■ gain insights from the data that may help us to develop and implement engagement strategies to improve voluntary compliance and may include educational or compliance activities as appropriate
■ obtain intelligence to increase the ATO’s understanding of the behaviours and compliance profiles of individuals and businesses that provide ride sourcing services
■ ensure compliance with registration, lodgment, correct reporting and payment of tax and superannuation obligations.
A document describing this program is available at ato.gov.au/dmprotocols.
This program follows the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014) (the guidelines). The guidelines include standards for the use of data matching as an administrative tool in a way that:
■ complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act)
■ is consistent with good privacy practice.
A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at ato.gov.au/privacy
Overview
The Commissioner of Taxation Notice of a ride sourcing data-matching program, published on 21 April 2023, is intended to facilitate the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) acquisition of ride sourcing data to identify individuals potentially engaged in providing ride sourcing services during the 2022-23 financial year. This initiative aims to address the gap in ensuring tax compliance among ride sourcing providers by acquiring comprehensive data including identification and transaction details of approximately 200,000 individuals annually. The program, enacted by the Australian Government and adhering to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian Government administration (2014), seeks to promote voluntary compliance, enhance community confidence in the tax system, and assist the ATO in profiling taxpayers for better compliance insights. The primary policy objective is to ensure compliance with registration, lodgment, and accurate reporting of tax and superannuation obligations while maintaining adherence to privacy standards under the Privacy Act 1988.
Scope and Application
The Commissioner of Taxation's data-matching program specifically targets individuals who are likely engaged in providing ride sourcing services during the 2022–23 financial year, obtaining records relating to an estimated 200,000 individuals annually. This program is designed to enhance voluntary compliance, bolster community confidence in the tax and superannuation systems, and ensure adherence to registration, lodgment, and tax reporting obligations. The data collected includes identification details and transaction records, such as bank account details and income information, which will be used for profiling and compliance activities. Importantly, the ATO will not use this data to initiate automated actions but will instead leverage it for educational purposes and to develop strategies aimed at improving voluntary compliance. The program adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching, ensuring it complies with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988.
Key Provisions
The key provisions of the notice regarding the ride sourcing data-matching program can be understood in three main sections. Firstly, the program outlined in section 1 will see the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) obtain ride sourcing data from approximately 200,000 individuals annually. This data, as specified in section 2, includes identification details such as driver identifiers, ABNs, driver names, and addresses, as well as transaction details like bank account information, gross fares, and net amounts paid to drivers. These data items are intended to help the ATO identify ride sourcing providers and inform them of their tax obligations (sections 2 and 3).
The Act imposes specific obligations on the parties involved. The ATO is tasked with using the obtained data to promote voluntary compliance and enhance community confidence in the tax and superannuation systems (section 3). Furthermore, the ATO must adhere to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines on data matching, ensuring compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the Privacy Act 1988 (section 5). The guidelines require that data matching be conducted in a way that respects privacy and is consistent with good privacy practices.
Under this program, there are no specific offences outlined in the notice, but breaches of the APPs or the Privacy Act could lead to legal consequences. For instance, misuse of personal information could result in civil or criminal penalties, including fines of up to $2.1 million for individuals and $10.5 million for corporations, as stipulated by the Privacy Act. Additionally, non-compliance with the APPs could lead to actions by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, including orders for corrective action or public reporting. The ATO’s use of data for compliance activities must ensure it does not infringe on privacy rights or lead to automated actions against taxpayers.