The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) welcomes the decision by the Federal Court to set aside previous orders made by the Full Federal Court in Rawson Finances Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (2013) 93 ATR 775.
This decision confirms Rawson Finances knowingly gave false and misleading evidence before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), the Federal Court and Full Federal Court in a tax dispute.
In a summary of the Federal Court’s decision published by the Federal Court, ‘the evidence establishes highly egregious and fraudulent conduct by Rawson [Finances], through Andrew [Binetter], in the case run before the Tribunal and in the Federal Court. The new evidence reveals that this is a case of extraordinary deceit and subterfuge involving a multitude of overseas accounts and highly suspicious and unexplained transactions of labyrithal complexity.’
The Federal Court did not find fraud ‘on the part of the legal practitioners making submissions in the Tribunal and in proceedings in the Federal Court.’
The ATO said the outcome of the Federal Court’s decision sets a significant precedent for future cases, where the ATO identifies a taxpayer has provided false and misleading evidence before a court following the conclusion of a case.
The ATO is committed to protecting the integrity of the appeals process, and the outcome of this case sends a strong message to those considering disclosing false evidence.
This decision is not just a win for the ATO, it’s a win for the Australian community who expect the ATO to take appropriate action against those who disregard their taxation obligations.
