Security News > 2023 > March > Aussie tech worker payroll scheme operators found guilty of tax fraud

Three of the principals of an Australian scheme that offered free payroll services to tech contractors have been found guilty of conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth and conspiring to deal with the proceeds of crime.

Plutus Payroll claimed it could offer a free service because it was paid in advance by employers that hired contractors, and was not obliged to make income tax payments instantly.

In 2017 The Register caught wind of contractors who said Plutus Payroll had stopped paying them their wages.

As we investigated, it emerged that Plutus Payroll did not really have a cunning short term investment scheme.

The scheme had an obvious flaw: when Australians file their annual tax returns, they report how much income tax their employer remitted on their behalf.

Once the Australian Taxation Office started asking questions, the scheme quickly fell apart, leaving tech contractors out of pocket and angry.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/03/08/plutus_payroll_guilty_verdict/