OFF THE WIRE
THEY are number-crunchers in suits taking on some
2000 men in leather branded "one of the country's highest-risk criminal
threats".
But the "untouchables" running the Australian Taxation
Office's first crackdown on an outlaw motorcycle club say they treat Rebels
bikies like any other taxpayers.
That's even if the reputation of
Australia's biggest bikie gxxg - said to deal in drugs, extortion, violence and
money laundering - makes tax officials baulk at having their pictures
published.
In an exclusive interview, assistant tax commissioner of
serious non-compliance Phil Jones and his deputy John Fox revealed the ATO has
clawed back $1.7 million from the Rebels.
That only recently eclipsed the
$1.5 million that led to Australia's own Al Capone, Sydney vice king Abe
Saffron, being jailed for conspiring to hide from the taxman 26 years
ago.
There will be more to come from the Rebels, however, whose Hervey
Bay president once sent a limousine to the Gold Coast to pick up cocaine to feed
his 10-gram-a-day habit.
Last month one Rebel's yearly income was
assessed at $1 million-plus.
The ATO continues to probe overseas business
interests, Mr Jones said.
Mr Fox said the tax office saw increasing links
between organised crime and traditional business to the point where "it's
probably hard to distinguish at times".
Not that this made the Rebels
operation "any more or less difficult than any other cases that we've done", Mr
Jones said.
Most Rebels do not own businesses and lodge only simple tax
returns online, he said.
"Some have a combination of trusts, companies,
partnerships and super funds but they are in the minority," Mr Jones
said.
Asked if he was surprised by the level of wealth uncovered, he
replied: "Honestly, I don't think I can answer that question."
Data about
unexplained wealth is shared with Queensland police, who usually cannot access
it.
"Where there's a problem and we work across agencies, we can actually
make a difference, whereas on our own it's very hard to make a difference," Mr
Jones said.
Starting with a list of the 2000-odd Rebels members supplied
by police and crime agencies as part of Task Force Attero, the ATO whittled that
down to 117 bikies who faced compliance action.
"There was no one flagged
that they've specifically said, 'Can you look at this person?'. We've applied
our normal risk processes," Mr Jones said.
Communicating with the Rebels
was no different to "how we would deal with the general public", he
said.
The ATO has locked in payment arrangements with 34 bikies, with
about the same number referred for prosecution for refusing to lodge any
paperwork.
http://www.news.com.au/national-news/queensland/tax-office-specialists-claw-back-17m-in-crackdown-on-rebel-bikie-gang-members8217-unexplained-high-earnings/story-fnii5v6w-1226686412521
