Australian SMEs Targeted By Employees In Cyber Attacks

Australian small businesses are "under attack" from cyber criminals, as increasing numbers of small businesses are having data stolen from both external threats and disgruntled employees, a new survey has revealed. The survey released this week by security company McAfee found 45% of surveyed SMBs had been the target of an electronic attack in the past year – but that 46% had suffered a data or security breach as the result of disgruntled former or current employees.  Of those businesses, 24% had experienced this kind of attack three or...

Read More

Wealthy Tax Evaders On Australian Taxation Office Hit-List

RICH Australians owing hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes are about to be tapped for the cash they have hidden in tax havens around the world. The Australian Taxation Office says the net is closing in on the wealthy tax evaders who are about to be given a “last chance opportunity” to declare the assets they have squirreled away overseas. Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan today announced an amnesty for all Australians who have failed to declare foreign income, ahead of a global crackdown that will expose funds held in havens...

Read More

Australian Tax Office Slashes

Australian Tax Office Slashes 4700 Staff, Brings In $250,000-A-Year Spin Doctor The Australian Tax Office is hiring a $250,000-a-year media wrangler to sell the idea revenue collection will not fall but its own figures show each of the 4700 staff walking out the door collect an average of $23 million in taxes. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan's newest senior executive will respond to "high profile, high risk" media enquiries and craft the single most important message the organisation needs to send to the public: that cutbacks to staff numbers...

Read More

ATO Letting Big Multinationals Get Away With It

Martin Lock was formerly the top withholding-tax specialist at the Tax Office, a role that encompassed oversight of profit shifting by multinationals. He is one of many former officers who have voiced their concerns to Fairfax Media about the challenge of arresting the slide in tax receipts from multinational companies operating in Australia. Like many of his colleagues, Lock took a voluntary redundancy in June this year. During the past three years, the number of those at the Australian Taxation Office supervising international activities...

Read More