June 2024
- Exclusive
- Tax avoidance
‘Poacher turned gamekeeper’: The tax commissioner’s secret money trail
Before he was tax commissioner, Chris Jordan was involved in a transfer from a mystery company in the Isle of Man and a casino junket venture that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
- Neil Chenoweth
February 2024
Tax commissioner says 47pc rate fuels tax minimisation
Chris Jordan says Australia’s top tax rate is encouraging people to minimise tax through trusts and companies, as Paul Keating argues a rate above 39 per cent is “confiscatory”.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Income tax
The Tax Office changed for the better under Jordan
There’s been a noticeable shift in attitudes on the part of tax officers I deal with at all levels of the Tax Office.
- Mark Leibler
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
Parties, staff beauty contests and a ‘god’ dais: How the ATO has changed
Secrecy and privacy were legendary in the closed shop of the Australian Taxation Office where staffers were encouraged to socialise only with their colleagues. But times have changed.
- Tom Burton
- Exclusive
- ATO
A scandal-ridden finale for ATO boss Chris Jordan
Last year’s PwC scandal and a giant GST fraud scheme are casting a long shadow but the outgoing commissioner points to successes such as collecting billions more from overseas companies.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Inside the Tax Office’s bitter feud over PwC
The Tax Office made multiple attempts to sideline or to engineer the dismissal of Michael O’Neill because of his team’s actions in investigating PwC.
- Neil Chenoweth
October 2023
Tax Office mixed up documents in PwC penalty case
ATO’s list of “false and misleading documents” in legal professional privilege claims included company logos.
- Neil Chenoweth
Audits reap nearly $8b for the Tax Office
Workers paid a total of about $730 billion in income tax last financial year and got $154 billion back in refunds, new data from the ATO shows.
- Tom McIlroy
September 2023
Chalmers ‘not contemplating’ Future Fund liquidation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ruled out liquidating the $250 billion in assets held by the Future Fund to pay down government debt.
- Max Mason
August 2023
ATO seeks gong for bungled TikTok fraud response
For eventually stopping billions in fraudulent refund claims, the tax office is now seeking a medal.
- Myriam Robin
Emma Alberici’s recruitment firm vetting the next Tax Commissioner
What Alberici lacked in taxation conversance, she more than makes up for these days in candidate evaluation.
- Joe Aston
July 2023
Chris Jordan to step down as Tax Commissioner
The boss of the Australian Taxation Office says he will not seek reappointment to the role next year.
- Tom McIlroy
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
How two regulators went to war over the PwC scandal
Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan accused the Tax Practitioners Board of “serious overreach” and pressured the agency to stop investigating 26 tech companies.
- Neil Chenoweth
October 2022
Distressed taxpayers owe the government $45b
Australians owe the Tax Office $45 billion after a nearly 70 per cent blowout in unpaid taxes during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Tom McIlroy
ATO knocks out $40b in resources write-offs (thanks to Chevron win)
The Australian Taxation Office has boosted the tax take from oil and gas companies after a landmark legal case involving the energy giant.
- Tom McIlroy
September 2022
- Exclusive
- Governance
Directors cough up $2b tax debt after ATO warning
The tax commissioner says an extra $2 billion in tax debt has been collected from small business after ATO letters warned company directors they were personally liable for unpaid liabilities.
- Tom McIlroy and John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Tax reform
Reforms will deliver significant new revenue: Canada tax chief
Bob Hamilton, commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency, will headline a major international conference in Sydney next week
- Tom McIlroy and John Kehoe
July 2022
Drug cheats or gold medallists? The ATO’s war with the miners
The Tax Office says the big companies skirt the rules – the minerals council says they are star contributors of public funds. Rio’s $991 million settlement could be just the start.
- Tom McIlroy
- Exclusive
- Tax minimisation
‘Drug cheat’ resource groups pay $12b in tax as ATO breaks cycle
Tax commissioner Chris Jordan said stamping out the practice, rather than repeatedly cracking down on it, has forced them to pay billions of dollars more.
- Phillip Coorey
October 2021
ATO boss facing rare Senate contempt order over JobKeeper list
Tax commissioner Chris Jordan faces jail time or a fine of up to $5000 over the growing transparency stand-off.
- Tom McIlroy