Commissioner of Taxation
Notice of a data matching program - Online selling 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017‑18
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will continue to acquire annually online selling data. Data will be acquired relating to registrants who sold goods and services to an annual value of $12,000 or more during the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years.
Data providers are included in the program based on the following principles:
- The data owner or its subsidiary operates a business in Australia that is governed by Australian law.
- The data owner provides an online market place for businesses and individuals to buy and sell goods and services.
- The data owner tracks the activity of registered sellers.
- The data owner has clients whose annual trading activity amounts to $12,000 or more.
- The data owner has trading activity for the periods in focus.
- Where the client base of a data owner does not present an omitted income risk or the administrative or financial cost of collecting the data exceeds the benefit the data may provide, the data owner may be excluded from the program.
In accordance with the principles listed above data will be sought from eBay Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of eBay International AG which owns and operates www.ebay.com.au
The data items that will be obtained are:
- personal details of online selling account holders, such as name, address and contact information
- the value and quantity of transactions processed for each online selling account.
It is estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 records will be obtained and that around half of the matched accounts will relate to individuals.
These records will be electronically matched with ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with registration, lodgment, reporting and payment obligations under taxation laws.
The objectives are to:
- Promote voluntary compliance with taxation obligations and increase awareness in the community of the ways we use data matching to address non-compliance, by publishing this program protocol.
- Assist in building intelligence about businesses including broader risk, trend and strategic analysis.
- Ensure compliance with registration, lodgment, correct reporting and payment of taxation obligations.
A document describing this program has been prepared in consultation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A copy of this document is available at www.ato.gov.au/dmprotocols
Overview
The Commissioner of Taxation Notice of a Data Matching Program - Online Selling 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 was enacted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in 2016, targeting the issue of non-compliance in online selling transactions. The program aims to address the problem of underreporting and non-registration of income from online sales, particularly for transactions exceeding $12,000 annually, by leveraging data matching techniques to ensure compliance with taxation laws. This initiative was authorised by the Australian government to facilitate the acquisition of online selling data from specific providers, such as eBay Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd, to identify potential non-compliance and promote voluntary adherence to tax obligations. The program's policy objective is to enhance the ATO's ability to detect and address tax evasion through improved data intelligence and risk analysis, ultimately ensuring accurate reporting and payment of taxes.
Scope and Application
The Commissioner of Taxation Notice of a data matching program concerning online selling for the financial years 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 applies to entities that operate an online marketplace in Australia, provided these entities meet certain criteria. The program specifically targets data owners who have clients whose annual trading activity amounts to $12,000 or more and who track the activity of registered sellers. This program extends to eBay Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of eBay International AG, which operates www.ebay.com.au. The data collected includes personal details of online selling account holders and the value and quantity of transactions processed. Entities may be excluded if they do not pose an omitted income risk or if the cost of data collection exceeds its benefits. This data will be matched with ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with taxation laws, with the aim of promoting voluntary compliance, building intelligence about businesses, and ensuring adherence to registration, lodgment, reporting, and payment obligations.
Key Provisions
The key provisions of this legislation (sections 1-6) focus on the acquisition and matching of online selling data by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The ATO aims to obtain data relating to registrants who sold goods and services online to an annual value of $12,000 or more during the specified financial years. This data will be sourced from eBay Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of eBay International AG. The data to be collected includes personal details of online sellers and transaction values and quantities. The data is intended to be matched with ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with various taxation obligations.
The obligations imposed by this Act primarily concern data providers. The legislation outlines specific criteria for including a data owner in the program, such as operating a business governed by Australian law, providing an online marketplace, tracking seller activity, and having clients with annual trading activity of $12,000 or more. However, data owners may be excluded if their client base presents no omitted income risk or if the cost of collecting the data exceeds its benefit. The ATO is responsible for ensuring that data is acquired in accordance with these principles and matched with its data holdings to identify non-compliant taxpayers.
Failure to comply with the requirements of this Act may result in civil or criminal consequences. While the Act does not explicitly state the specific offences, penalties, or consequences, the ATO's data matching programs typically result in the identification of non-compliance, which may lead to audits, investigations, and penalties for unregistered, unreported, or underreported income. The penalties for tax evasion, for example, can include fines of up to $22,200 for individuals and twice the amount of the tax shortfall for businesses. Additionally, the ATO may pursue legal action to recover unpaid taxes, interest, and additional penalties. The exact penalties and consequences depend on the nature and extent of the non-compliance discovered during the data matching process.