Bulldog wrote:heard on the radio in brissy the other morning that they are focusing on auditing electricians, plumbers and telephone techs this year as returns have been to high over the past few years from these industrys. This is australia wide they said not just in Brissy
The ATO are focussing on many trades, and have created benchmarking for the below trades to try and monitor businesses.
• Bricklaying
• Concreting
• Fencing
• Roofing
• Floor sanding
• Painting
• Taxis
The ATO claim that these benchmarks are a way to compare business practices and performances to the industry standard. However, it is obvious that the ATO have a second agenda. THe tax office have employed numerous auditors this tax season, and will use businesses that dont meet the industry benchmarks as examples and "randomly" select them for audit.
The benchmarks include sales turnover. This may affect many tradespeople who include all expenses in the books, but are completing many cash jobs. This will trigger an alarm at the ATO when the sales turnover result is poor, hence it is a good way for the ATO to try and reduce the huge cash market, which is a huge pisser for some.