The Australian Tax Office has written to more than 60 private schools, requesting information on parents who pay fees from overseas bank accounts.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that more than 100 parents who paid up to $100,000 a year in fees from overseas accounts are about to get ‘please explain’ letters from the tax office.
“The ATO is continuing its crackdown on wealthy individuals with hidden income and assets offshore,” the Herald says.
Many people have overseas bank accounts, and there is no suggestion that using them to pay school fees is illegal, but the ATO is concerned about money being ‘stashed’ overseas to avoid taxes.
“The offshore accounts that are being used to pay the private school fees may be concealing much larger amounts of money amounting to millions,” the report says.
“Some could be justifiable. Some could be an indication that they still have money offshore and are not meeting their tax obligations.”
