If your business earns a part of its income in cold, hard cash, be prepared to have the Australian Taxation Office’s eyes on you this tax time.

To protect honest, compliant Australian businesses, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has placed a strong emphasis on targeting the cash and hidden economy (known to be a part of the shadow economy).

For example, they may be keeping a close eye on a sole trader electrician, whose reported earnings over the financial year versus their actual spending isn’t adding up. Or perhaps you have a side hustle (such as freelancing or selling plants at the market), and earn some cash-in-hand alongside your full-time job’s income.

The ATO will be watching these businesses and individual traders that deal predominantly in cash, with a focus on those that:

• Fail to meet super or employer obligations, and fail to register for GST or lodge activity statements.
• Operate outside regular small business benchmarks specific to their industry.
• Show discrepancies between what they have reported and ATO collected data relating to electronic payments.
• Operate and advertise as cash-only.
• Income does not correlate with the lifestyle of the business owner, i.e., assets and spending habits exceed what is expected of someone with their reported income.
• Pay their employees cash-in-hand.
• Estimate their sales and income.
• Use the ‘no sale’ and ‘void’ buttons on cash registers when taking cash payments.
• Do not reconcile at the end of the day and do not keep cash register tapes.
• Are reported to the ATO by members of the community or any third party regarding potential tax evasion.
• Are part of an industry that is known for dealing primarily in cash-only.

When out visiting cash-only businesses, the ATO will be working in unison with local authorities and industry associations to ask questions and discuss:

• Why the business operates primarily or only in cash.
• The need to lodge tax returns and activity statements.
• How to be compliant in relation to tax and super obligations.
• Different claims and tax deductions businesses can make.
• The general community’s preference for having EFTPOS or electronic payment options available to them.
• Benefits of electronic payment and record-keeping facilities.
• Relaying tools and services businesses can use if they are struggling to ensure they are compliant with Australian tax laws.

If the ATO comes across a business that is doing the wrong thing or failing to meet its obligations, they have a duty to take action. This may result in the business facing an audit and possible prosecution.

Its imperative that you are fulfilling your obligations and know where you stand, particularly with;

• Bookkeeping and record-keeping requirements
• Reconciliations between till takings (z-totals) and banking
• Consequences of failure to report all income (penalties, fines, interest, additional tax, additional GST)
• Consistency of business income between prior and current years, and with reference to lifestyle

If you do make a mistake upon completing your tax return but make a voluntary disclosure detailing your errors, the ATO will work with you to rectify this and create a solution.