Australia To Ban Cash Purchases Over $10,000 (theguardian.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader skegg writes: Last night was federal budget night in Australia, and one of the announcements means Australians will face a crackdown on cash-in-hand payments in an attempt by the government to reduce money laundering and tax evasion. The government has turned its attention to the "black economy" in an attempt to raise billions of extra dollars and intends to limit cash payments for purchase goods and services to $10,000.
The financial services minister argues that currently the status quo "gives some businesses an unfair competitive advantage."

Comments

Simple solution:

[Alain Williams]

Transaction 1: $10,000 buy the car wheels and chassis; Transaction 2: $10,000 buy the engine; Transaction 3: $10,000 buy the rest of the car.

Re:Simple solution:

[Jeremi]

Transaction 1: $10,000 buy the car wheels and chassis; Transaction 2: $10,000 buy the engine; Transaction 3: $10,000 buy the rest of the car.

Yeah, they know about that trick; it's illegal too.

Re:Simple solution:

[scdeimos]

I was just thinking the same thing. Only a couple of months ago I dropped $90K cash on a new car.

The government needs to decide whether cash is still a legal currency or not and then either stop trying to fuck with it or completely eliminate it from the economy.

Re:Simple solution:

[countach]

Your local Lamborghini dealer is probably not going to get involved in that. What the criminals will do is find some homeless person, set them up with a bank account, and work through them.

Re: Simple solution:

[Hognoxious]

Money laundering is taking proceeds of crime and funnelling them through an otherwise legitimate business in order to disguise their origin.

That's everywhere except the US.

There it's become a thing that they just tag onto other offences to get a higher sentence and/or pressure the defendant into a plea bargain.

Re: Simple solution:

[Cederic]

When was the last time any legit small store had 10,000$ in the actual building in cash?

I see you've never worked in a city centre pub at a weekend.

How can this curb illegal activity?

[ZorinLynx]

If you're already engaging in an illegal transaction, money laundering, etc... why would you let the fact that paying over $10K in cash is illegal stop you?

Re:How can this curb illegal activity?

[mikael]

The black economy is usually someone paying a car mechanic, builder or joiner to do some work, while not declaring the transaction and pocketing the VAT/income tax for themselves. In rural areas, they also exchange or barter services instead of transferring cash. Sometimes payment is acceptable as bottles of wine, firewood, scrap metal, old appliances or anything else.

Re:How can this curb illegal activity?

[hazardPPP]

If you're already engaging in an illegal transaction, money laundering, etc... why would you let the fact that paying over $10K in cash is illegal stop you?

Not only that, I actually fail to see how this measure solves anything.

The people who are the *real* problem when comes to tax evasion and tax avoidance - the super-rich who keep their money in offshore tax havens and the global mega-corporations doing double dutch sandwiches and whatever - don't do cash transactions over $10K. They have their lawyers wire the money from the Cayman Islands to Macau, or whatever.

Ordinary folks that pay the car mechanic or the painter in cash to avoid paying taxes don't pay over $10K in those transactions, that's usually a few hundred or a few thousand dollars.

So this might only catch criminals that seek to buy things at a legitimate establishment, say a drug dealer who goes into a department store or a car dealership. Probably not a very large demographics.

Re:How can this curb illegal activity?

[rogoshen1]

Aussies have a very long history of losing their freedom. In fact, it might be one of the defining characteristics of their country.

Re:How can this curb illegal activity?

[Zaelath]

It's hysterical though to watch Americans talk about freedom while having civil forfeiture laws that lets cops steal money and put it literally in their own pockets as wages.

Re: How can this curb illegal activity?

[Bing Tsher E]

The 'blacks count as a fraction of a person' law that you mention was actually a rule forced on the slave states by the non-slave states. The northern states didn't want blacks to be counted as a whole person because that meant more representatives would be apportioned to the states with lots of blacks in them. The southern states wanted blacks counted as a whole (non-voting) human.

Well, good luck attracting drug kingpins then

[elrous0]

They're all moving back to Miami, where you can buy a mansion with a suitcase full cash still. The real estate agent will even agree to clean the coke dust off for free.

Crypto Currency

[Archangel Michael]

Thanks for the recommendation to move to Crypto Currency for all transactions over $10K. - Australian Unintended Consequences Department.

Re:Crypto Currency

[cheesyweasel]

All crypto transactions in australia over 10k are required to be lodged with AUSTRAC - http://www.austrac.gov.au/medi...

Re:Crypto Currency

[Archangel Michael]

Australians put up with that crap?

Re:Crypto Currency

[GumphMaster]

Yes, just like in the United States, for example, Form 8300 and Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000.

Re:First they ban guns, then they ban money

[bobbied]

What next? Free speech?

No need to take free speech... They don't have that now.. https://www.lifehacker.com.au/...