Is the ATO Snooping on Your Social Media?

If this article heading stopped you dead in your track then you’re probably not aware of this possibility. In the light of an article recently published in the Sydney Morning Herald, we would like to inform you about the possibility of the ATO snooping around on your social media accounts to determine if what you’ve been claiming is true. This sounds slightly alarming, but if you’ve come clean about your income and expenses, then you have not a thing to worry about.

In a time where people seem to share every moment of their life, be it what you had for breakfast to your office promotion or to having your first child, social media is a record on everything about you! So if you’re telling the ATO that you’ve only earned $100k in the last year, yet your Facebook photo albums are bursting with likes on your new Ferrari, you might be heading into some trouble.

Data Matching:

The ATO is hiring data mining specialists that are responsible for mining and matching data from your social media feeds. They match the claims that you have made to the ATO with the posts that you have made on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on. And don’t for a minute think that your privacy settings will stop them from finding out what they need to know.

Some Points to be Weary of:

• Declare whatever business you might be conducting. Even if you’re not entirely sure that this business is going to be continued over a long time, make sure you are transparent with the ATO. Because every business is linked with some or the other online presence. And it won’t be very hard to get a hold of you.
• Don’t make the mistake of posting pictures of your beach side holiday home worth millions, while you only pay tax for a fraction of that income. Come clean with the ATO and this will ensure that you have the most relaxing of vacation for years to come.
• Finally, it is as easy as it gets. If you have nothing to hide from the ATO, then you have nothing to lose. And your social media won’t be snooped on by government officials looking to pin you down and demand an explanation.

If you’d like to know more about tax and accounting services in Melbourne, don’t hesitate to drop us an email.