How welfare cheats are using Uber to take taxpayers for a ride
Australian welfare cheats have found another creative way to sneak extra cash on the side – by moonlighting as Uber drivers.
Black Economy Taskforce chairman Michael Andrew said welfare recipients are now using privacy laws to dupe the system and take unsuspecting taxpayers for a ride.
Mr Andrew said Uber drivers are "difficult to trace", and privacy laws are stopping government agencies from sharing information and identifying who they are individually.
"People are double dipping," Mr Andrew told the Daily Telegraph.
"The welfare recipients are very smart. They know exactly what they have to earn or to clear before they lose their welfare benefits."
The man in charge of tearing down the "black economy" – the shadowy market that operates untaxed and outside regulations - said that the provisions in place were out dated and had not adjusted to manage the technological advances that are available today.
It comes as Australian Taxation Office boss Chris Jordan said on Wednesday that the ATO needed to have the right balance between help for tax affairs and enforcement.
"The Government has got to get much better organisationally. (It) has so much information which it doesn’t use," he said.
The Black Economy Taskforce was established to catch out those operating outside the tax regulation system, aiming to plug a $40 billion black hole.
It is due to present its final report to the federal government in October.
