GST Fraud via TikTok

The Australian Tax Office has been the subject of a massive GST fraud scheme which has netted over $1.2 billion in refunds via fake GST claims.

The scheme involved registering a fictious business, obtaining an Australian Business number and claiming 10% GST refund on expenditure not incurred. It went viral over Tiktok in late 2020 and 2021.

The Australian Tax Office has reported that they have taken action against over 56,000 people and stopped a further $2.2 billion GST refunds.

The scheme does not appear to have found its way to NZ. The NZ Revenue’s system with GST returns and refunds automatically flags new businesses that seek GST refunds. It also allows the Inland Revenue further time to review refunds if they consider it necessary.

Prepared by Chris Ng