Offences & Charges

Tax offences & charges

Under the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 there are a range of different offences that a person who commits a tax fraud can be convicted of.

The first thing to understand is that there is no specific offence of “tax fraud”. There are a range of general offences against the Commonwealth that absorb the subject area.

The first is “Obtain a Financial Advantage by Deception”. In order to be convicted of this offence it must be shown that a person has done the following things:

• Obtained a financial advantage;
• Have obtained that advantage by “deception”; and
• That the person from whom the financial advantage has been obtained is a Commonwealth Entity.

The phrase Commonwealth Entity includes the Australian Taxation Office or the Commonwealth generally. The penalty for this offence is imprisonment for up to 10 years.

There is a further offence of “Conspiracy to Defraud”. A person commits this offence if the person:

• Conspires with another person;
• Does so with the intention of dishonestly obtaining a gain for a third person; and
• That the third person is a Commonwealth Entity.

Once again, the words Commonwealth Entity would include the Australian Taxation Office or the Australia Government generally. The penalty for this offence is also imprisonment for up to 10 years.

There are also a range of other comparatives less serious offences that can be committed in the process of completing ones tax affairs.