Being involved with tax fraud can land you in jail - never a participant nor a helper be paper

Published on 17 Oct 13 by TASMANIAN DIVISION, THE TAX INSTITUTE

Like professional negligence, tax fraud is not something that a practitioner normally expects to be involved in or accused of, but it can happen particularly in a “guilt by association” situation or where a client points the finger of blame to reduce their level of blame.

This paper covers:

• common misconceptions and fallacies
• identifying and being wary of potential indicators
• how much reliance can you place on your client?
• Saxby: even a simple objection can create an exposure
• is the ATO aware more than you?
• increased risks for professional advisers who are caught up in dodgy transactions, including heavier sentencing than five years ago
• are juries more prepared to join up the dots in tax fraud cases?

Author profile

David Williams CTA-Life

David Williams, CTA (Life) is a Strategic Adviser in relation to taxation matters operating principally in Sydney. He has been involved in taxation, death duty and estate planning matters for over 45 years, the last 15 as a sole practitioner and prior to that as a partner at an international law firm. He drafted his first will in 1968 and his most recent last week with quite a few in between. During that time he has written and presented extensively on a wide range of subject matter. David was the President of The Tax Institute in 2010. - Current at 19 September 2018

More by David Williams

• A selection of practical issues arising in the context of wills and estates paper - 18-October-2018
• The issues you face if a client confides in you that they think they have committed tax fraud paper - 25-March-2013
• Accidently getting caught up in tax fraud is usually not a risk on your radar - What should you be aware of? paper - 13-March-2013
• The taxation treatment of proceeds from the exploitation of intellectual property paper - 21-February-2012

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