As a part of the Federal Government’s strategy to combat the tax compliance risks posed by the sharing economy, it has passed into law new requirements for operators of electronic distribution platforms to provide information to the ATO on transactions made through their platforms.
An “electronic distribution platform” is one that delivers services through electronic communication (ie over the internet, including through applications, websites or other software) and allows entities to make supplies available to end-user consumers through the platform. A service isn’t considered an electronic distribution platform if it only advertises or creates awareness of possible supplies online, operates as a payment platform or serves a communication function.
Examples of sharing economy electronic platform operators include Uber, Airbnb, Car Next Door, Menulog, Airtasker and Freelancer.
Electronic platform operators will soon be required to regularly provide transaction information to the ATO through the Taxable Payments Reporting System (TPRS). The information obtained will be used in ATO data-matching to help identify entities that may not be meeting their tax obligations.