ATO to launch online application system for STR from 1 June

In less than a month, tax agents will be able to apply for a statement of tax record (STR) from the ATO via its new online system.

The request will generally be processed within four business days and the subsequently issued STR will be based on details held in the ATO system, including information supplied by the taxpayer under the self-assessment system.

On 8 May 2018, the government announced that from 1 July 2019 businesses wanting to tender for Commonwealth government contracts over $4 million (including GST) will need a STR from the ATO.

The measure is part of its efforts to battle the black economy.

“Supply chain integrity can easily be undermined due to illegal supplier practices that are often unknown to the purchaser at the procurement stage or during the course of the contract that creates an unfair advantage,” the Assistant Treasurer, Stuart Robert, said earlier this year.

The ATO announced at the time it will build an online system that will enable businesses to request and receive these statements in a short timeframe.

In order to obtain a satisfactory STR, businesses must be correctly registered for an Australian business number (ABN), goods and services tax (GST), and tax file number (TFN).

Businesses are also required to have lodged at least 90 per cent of their relevant income tax, business activity statement (BAS) and fringe benefits tax (FBT) lodgements that were due in the last four years of operation.

Moreover, they must not have $10,000 or greater in outstanding undisputed debt due, or have a payment plan in place with the ATO.

It is, however, expected that most businesses will be able to obtain the STR without any difficulty, the ATO has said. 

An STR is valid for 12 months from the time of issue if you have an Australian tax record for four or more years, or six months if you have an Australian tax record of less than four years.