The use of exchanged information increases international transparency, combats profit shifting, and reduces tax avoidance and evasion. It is an essential supplement to domestic information gathering. EOI is particularly useful when we have no visibility over a taxpayer’s offshore affairs and have exhausted all domestic means to source the information or verify the taxpayer’s claims.
Types of information that can be exchanged
An EOI can be used to obtain foreign tax returns and information regarding bank accounts, as well as immigration, trust, company and identity records. Materials obtained through EOI can confirm tax residency status, identify offshore assets and income, shed light on global supply chain arrangements and verify GST transactions.
Who we exchange information with
Australia has a number of international agreements in place to facilitate the exchange of information with other jurisdictions. The full list of Australia’s international tax agreements is maintained by the Treasury.
Double taxation agreements and Double taxation conventions
Australia’s Double taxation agreements (DTAs) and Double taxation conventions (DTCs) are bilateral tax treaties between Australia and another jurisdiction containing rules for avoiding double taxation. Each DTA and DTC contains an EOI article that allows for the exchange of information between treaty partners.
See also:
- Income tax treatiesExternal Link – DTAs and DTCs in place with Australia
Tax information exchange agreements
Tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) allow the tax authorities of Australia and the participating country to exchange information to assist each other in administering and enforcing their tax laws on both civil and criminal matters.
See also:
Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
The Multilateral Convention assists with administrative co-operation between jurisdictions involving the assessment and collection of taxes, with a particular view to combating tax avoidance and evasion. Co-operation ranges from EOI, including automatic exchanges, to the recovery of foreign tax claims.
See also:
- Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax MattersExternal Link – OECD
- Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax MattersExternal Link – Treasury
The role of the Competent Authority
The Competent Authority is the authorised representative of the Commissioner of Taxation. The Competent Authority represents us in discussions with the Competent Authorities of other jurisdictions, where sensitive issues or taxpayer information are being discussed. All communications to and from our treaty partners must be made through the Competent Authority.
Why EOI requests are made and what type of information can be exchanged.