ATO Reviews Tax Returns

A NEW anti-fraud computer system installed by the ATO earlier this year is helping to identify thousands of suspect claims.

Of the 3.6 million tax returns already lodged up to last week (September 2009), the ATO has identified more than 25,000 returns deemed to be "high risk", meaning they have a high probability of containing fraudulent information, worth about $260 million.

These returns are currently being investigated.

Such "high risk" claims include those submitted by unregistered agents, containing high one-off claims, or showing substantial increases from the previous year's claims.

"We are not suggesting all of these detected returns are fraudulent, however they are worthy of a closer look," says Commissioner of Taxation Michael D'Ascenzo.
"After our investigation ends, we expect that a minority will be found to be legitimate and will be processed accordingly," he says.