[1]Reuters New Media [ [2]Yahoo | [3]Write Us | [4]Search | [5]Info ] [ [6]Index | [7]News | [8]World | [9]Biz | [10]Tech | [11]Politic | [12]Sport | [13]Scoreboard | [14]Entertain | [15]Health ] [ Reuters | [16]Wired | [17]ZDNet ] _________________________________________________________________ Previous Story: [18]SkyBridge Applies With U.S. For Satellite Network Next Story: [19]Altera Tumbles After Sales Warning, Others Follow _________________________________________________________________ Friday August 29 9:52 AM EDT Report Says Net May Help Tax Dodgers CANBERRA - Increasing use of the Internet for electronic commerce may lead to a rise in tax avoidance and accidental non-compliance, according to an Australian Taxation Office report. However, the report found Internet use would have no immediate impact on Australian tax collections because issues such as bandwidth limits and electronic payment system immaturity were restricting the amount of electronic commerce. While the report finds that the impact on the tax base will vary according to industry, tax and income type, there is no immediate appreciable impact on tax collections," it said. (But) there are also concerns about the increased scope for tax planning, especially using tax havens, and for increased accidental non-compliance, as ... businesses engage in international trade and become subject to international taxation obligations with which they may not be familiar." The ATO said international co-operation would be needed to fully respond to these issues. In addition, the ATO was seeking to: -- have Australian Company Numbers (ACNs) displayed on commercial Internet sites; -- have proper registration procedures for Internet businesses; -- apply comparable regulations to electronic money as for physical cash; -- make use of the available technology to ensure the integrity of electronic records; and, -- examine the electronic commerce distribution chains for new intermediaries. The ATO said there was potential for the Internet to cause difficulties in identifying parties behind Internet businesses. It was also possible that businesses would be able to store tax records offshore or to alter them without trace. The Internet could also lead to the removal of tax collection points in the distribution chain from producer to consumer. The report said its recommendations were designed to help the ATO avoid these problems. Copyright, Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved _________________________________________________________________ ________________________ ___________ [20]Help _________________________________________________________________ Previous Story: [21]SkyBridge Applies With U.S. For Satellite Network Next Story: [22]Altera Tumbles After Sales Warning, Others Follow _________________________________________________________________ [ [23]Index | [24]News | [25]World | [26]Biz | Tech | [27]Politic | [28]Sport | [29]Scoreboard | [30]Entertain | [31]Health ] _________________________________________________________________ Reuters Limited [32]Questions or Comments References 1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/970829/tech/stories/tax_1.html#reuters 2. http://www.yahoo.com/ 3. http://www.yahoo.com/text/suggest.html 4. http://www.yahoo.com/text/search.html 5. http://www.yahoo.com/text/docs/info/ 6. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/ 7. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/news/ 8. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/international/ 9. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/business/ 10. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/tech/ 11. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/politics/ 12. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/sports/ 13. http://sports.yahoo.com/ 14. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/entertainment/ 15. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/health/ 16. http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/wired/ 17. http://headlines.yahoo.com/zdnews/ 18. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/970829/tech/stories/skybridge_1.html 19. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/970829/tech/stories/altera_1.html 20. http://www.yahoo.com/docs/info/news_search_help.html 21. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/970829/tech/stories/skybridge_1.html 22. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/970829/tech/stories/altera_1.html 23. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/ 24. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/news/ 25. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/international/ 26. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/business/ 27. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/politics/ 28. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/sports/ 29. http://sports.yahoo.com/ 30. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/entertainment/ 31. http://www.yahoo.com/text/headlines/health/ 32. http://www.yahoo.com/docs/info/news_faq.html