16 Apr 2010

ATO renews crackdown on offshore tax havens

12:33 pm on 16 April 2010

The Australian Tax Office is targeting as many as 100,000 Australians as part of a renewed crackdown on offshore tax havens.

It is pressuring banks to hand over the details of clients who have failed to declare overseas income or who have inflated deductions for international transactions.

The ATO has been pursuing tax cheats who hide behind offshore bank accounts since 2007.

Since then, it's obtained 3500 disclosures and around $A450 million from dodged payments and liabilities.

However, tax officials believe that is just the tip of the tax iceberg.