ATO raids homes to crackdown on tax evasion
Wednesday February 27, 2008
To curb the trend for many Australian tax-payers to funnel cash to the LGT Group bank in Liechtenstein, the Australian Taxation Authority has raided 20 homes in order to find evidence of tax fraud.
These audits have been targeted based on findings from the LGT Group's client database, leaked by a former contract IT worker, Heinrich Kieber. The leaked information contains the details of 1400 LGT Group clients. Kieber is suspected to now be living in Australia under an alias, with the German government having reportedly paid him $7 million for his assistance in exposing the banking group.
Liechtenstein is considered a haven for many tax frauds, as it does not share financial information with other nations, making it extremely difficult for outside tax agencies to find out if citizens hold bank accounts there.
Share This