Australia's tax authority has laid out the latest number of tax prosecutions and related fines for the first three months of this year.

The Australian Tax Office says it has, to the end of March this year, prosecuted 692 individuals and 212 companies for a variety of offences including making false and misleading statements and not keeping adequate records. It has imposed a total of A$7.3 million ($5.7 million) of fines and associated costs and reparation orders, it added.

The ATO said there are almost 100 “serious criminal tax offence matters before the courts” spanning offences including identity crime with suspected links to organised foreign criminals.

The wording of the ATO statement about the amount of tax crime suggests policymakers and government organisations are concerned about the scale of the problem and determined to deter potential offenders. 

“These people are the worst kind of tax cheats. They were calculated in their attempts to deliberately commit fraud and evade their tax obligations, ultimately stealing from the Australian public, and placing an unfair burden on others who are doing the right thing,” deputy commissioner Michael Cranston said.

The ATO, Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution are working with other relevant agencies to stamp out tax-related crimes, the ATO said.