Mark Konza, deputy commissioner at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), told newspaper The Guardian: “These [leaks] send a clear message to those people who are involved with these types of service providers: if you’re getting involved in any arrangement that relies on secrecy then you can’t rely on secrecy.
“What we’re seeing [increasingly] is there are ordinary people who are becoming sick of some of the things they see happening.”
The information from the ATO comes after reports that the UK taxman has not yet got hold of a copy of the Paradise Papers.
Used company for sale
One feature of the Australian market is the use of ‘aged companies’.
Konza told the newspaper: “There’s a real market in companies that have been incorporated for some time, which are then used to make an arrangement appear to be long-standing, or appear to pre-date certain tax changes.
“The oldest company that we’ve seen for sale is a 1902 Nevada corporation from the US, which was [sold for] almost $200,000.” (£145,000 €163,730).”
Package deal
The deputy commissioner added that it was too early to say whether the individuals and 344 corporate entities were already known to the ATO but the information would help reveal the extent to which banks, law firms and accountants have “commoditised tax avoidance”.
According to Konza, the tax packages promoted by some ‘big networks’ are offered like package holidays with a bundle of features.
The FAQ sheet for one such package stated: “Is it legal? It’s pretty grey.”
The Guardian is one of the two UK media organisations that are being sued by Appleby the offshore law firm at the heart of the Paradise Papers.
It claim the information, which came from their offices, was hacked, shows no evidence of wrongdoing and the publication by The Guardian and the BBC’s Panorama TV programme, among others globally, is a violation of privacy.
