Top 500 program
The Top 500 program is one of several programs administered as part of the Tax Avoidance Taskforce. The objective of the Top 500 program is to provide the Australian Government and the community with confidence that Australia’s largest private groups are paying the correct amount of tax and will continue to pay the correct amount of tax in the future.
The Top 500 population changes over time as groups enter and leave based on the eligibility criteria. This is usually due to restructuring or following succession of a key controller. As of 30 June 2024, 435 private groups formed part of the Top 500 population.
The Top 500 program engagement model invites Top 500 groups to proactively demonstrate they are meeting, and want to continue to meet, their tax and superannuation obligations. They're engaged through ongoing, one-to-one engagements that take a holistic approach to assurance across the 4 key areas of justified trust.
If members of the Top 500 population don't wish to collaborate with us to demonstrate they are paying the correct amount of tax, we undertake assurance activities through firmer review and audit processes.
Some Top 500 clients are also included in the Top 500 GST assurance program, providing a level of assurance as to whether these groups are correctly reporting the right amount of GST. These are integrated with the income tax assurance engagements to ensure a seamless experience for the Top 500 group.
In the longer term, our ongoing engagements with large private groups who seek to comply with their obligations are designed to:
- prevent disputes through early engagement on major transactions
- build mutual trust
- foster willing participation in the tax and superannuation systems.
Our future approach
We are currently reviewing the Top 500 program and considering some changes to better align our approach with the objectives of the program. We'll focus on ensuring the expectations that the wealthiest private groups are kept to the highest tax compliance standards are met, while reducing the cost of compliance for the groups that get things right.
The review is looking at:
- updating the Top 500 program criteria to ensure we focus on the wealthiest private groups that have the greatest impact on the tax system
- how we can support and encourage groups to achieve justified trust, and clarifying the scope of the refresh-year review that occurs after 3 years of monitoring and maintenance
- reassessing the form of future engagements for certain groups that are fully tax assured.
Our differentiated approaches to assurance and justified trust will be maintained alongside any future changes.
Details of the review and future program updates will be available through our Top 500 private groups tax performance program in the coming months.