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The government has announced it will adopt the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), to start in 2017.
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Australia to adopt the CRS in 2017
16 September 2014
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8 minute read
An exact start date in 2017 has not yet been confirmed.
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Craig Cooper, director of tax services, RSM Bird Cameron welcomed the announcement and praised the sensible start date.
He said the 2017 deadline “balances reasonably the legitimate expectations of global nations to accelerate the automatic exchange of tax information on the one hand, with the equally legitimate considerations of Australian financial institutions which will bear the cost of implementing the new systems”.
Mr Cooper also said it gives the ATO sufficient time to prepare.
“CRS is an enormous undertaking. Pause and think for one moment – every individual in every (adopting) jurisdiction who holds some wealth outside their home jurisdictions by way of bank account or similar, will need to have that information captured in the investing jurisdiction, and have it returned to the revenue authority of the individual's home jurisdiction. This is an enormous undertaking,” he said.
“CRS is global in its application, which means that financial institutions in each country must collect the necessary information in respect of each individual/group from every other jurisdiction in the world, and exchange that information with the world, via the ATO.”
Mr Cooper said those calling for an immediate adoption of CRS have failed to take into account the turmoil which would follow a premature roll-out.
“Australia has followed an appropriate path of consideration, enquiry and consultation and now early adoption (albeit not as early as others) but one which should allow for an orderly upgrade in systems, both for FIs and also the ATO,” he said.
“To do otherwise risks international chaos, with incorrect information being disseminated. Alternatively, early adoption without appropriate systems would lead to information collected and exchanged, but left sitting in the proverbial waiting room without the ability to link it to taxpayer files,” Mr Cooper said.
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