호주 ATO에 의해 확인된 엄청난 세금 환급 변경: ‘점점 더 어려워짐’
ATO는 세금 신고서를 처리한 후 더 이상 납세자에게 문자 메시지를 보내지 않습니다.
타미카 세토
세토 타미카·재정 기자
2024년 7월 23일 화요일 오후 12:39 AEST·2분 읽기

세금과 사람
ATO는 환급금이 지불된 경우에만 문자 메시지를 보내드립니다. (출처: 게티)
호주 납세자들은 올해 세금 신고서를 제출할 때 중요한 차이점을 발견하게 될 것입니다. 호주 국세청(ATO)은 사기가 증가함에 따라 납세자에게 보내는 문자 메시지의 수를 줄일 것이라고 확인했습니다.

ATO는 이전에 납세자가 세금 신고서를 제출한 후 두 개의 SMS 메시지를 보냈습니다. 첫 번째 메시지는 반품이 언제 처리되었는지 알려주는 것이었고, 두 번째 메시지는 환불이 완료되었음을 알리는 것이었습니다.

ATO는 “우리는 더 이상 두 개의 SMS 메시지 중 첫 번째 메시지를 보내지 않을 것”이라고 말했습니다. “원치 않는 SMS 메시지가 널리 퍼지고 사기 메시지와 합법적인 메시지를 구별하는 것이 점점 더 어려워지고 있기 때문에 이러한 결정이 내려졌습니다.”

Huge tax refund change confirmed by ATO for Aussies: ‘Increasingly difficult’

The ATO will no longer send taxpayers a text message when it has processed their tax returns.

Tamika Seeto

·Finance Reporter

Tue 23 July 2024 at 12:39 pm AEST·2-min read

Tax and people — The ATO will only send you a text message when your refund has been paid. (Source: Getty)

Aussie taxpayers will notice a key difference when they lodge their tax returns this year. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has confirmed it will cut the number of text messages it sends to taxpayers, following a rise in scams.

The ATO previously sent two SMS messages to taxpayers after they lodged their tax returns. The first message was to advise when their return had been processed and the second was to notify them that their refund had been paid.

“We will no longer be sending the first of the two SMS messages,” the ATO said. “This decision was made due to the prevalence of unsolicited SMS messages and it becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish a scam message from a legitimate one.”

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The ATO flagged the change at the Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group meeting this month and noted the change raised no concerns.

“We will monitor and reconsider the new approach in the event of unintended consequences or impacts,” it said.

Aussies have been warned to be on high alert for scams this tax time. The ATO received 2,464 reports of impersonation scams in June, a whopping 48 per cent increase from last month.

Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com

While the vast majority of scams were via email, SMS was the second most common method, followed by phone and social media.

Scammers will often impersonate trusted organisations like the ATO and try to trick people into paying money or giving out their personal information. The ATO said it will never send an unsolicited SMS to you that contains a hyperlink.

The ATO also revealed no Aussies lost money to scammers impersonating it in June. Aussies lost $2.7 billion to scams in 2023.