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64-544: A company may also be required to have a Tax File Number (TFN) and an Australian Business Number (ABN). If a company has an ABN, it may use the ABN in place of the ACN on documents, preceded by the letters ABN. A similar nine-digit Australian Registered Body Number  [ Wikidata ] (ARBN) is used for non-company entities such as registerable Australian bodies, and for foreign companies. The Australian Company Number (ACN)

128-420: A bank account is held in more than one name, it is only exempt if all account holders are under 16. Children can apply for a TFN and quote it in the same way as anyone else, if they wish. For some forms of income, small earnings are exempt from TFN withholding for any account holder. For example, bank interest up to $ 120 per year is exempt. (However such amounts are still taxable income.) TFNs are issued by

192-444: A Social Security card would fit into its wallets. A sample card, used for display purposes, was placed in each wallet, which was sold by Woolworth and other department stores across the country; the wallet manufacturer's vice president and treasurer Douglas Patterson used the actual SSN of his secretary, Hilda Schrader Whitcher. Even though the card was printed in red (the real card is printed in blue) and had "specimen" printed across

256-424: A Social Security number until the age of about 14, since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom had substantial income. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 required parents to list Social Security numbers for each dependent over the age of 5 for whom the parent wanted to claim a tax deduction . Before this act, parents claiming tax deductions were simply trusted not to lie about

320-655: A benefit for the first time may have never previously needed a TFN. Foreigners in Australia whose visas permit them to work can apply for a TFN online, using their passport number and visa number. Proof of identity is established by the ATO confirming those numbers with the Department of Immigration . As is the case with many identification numbers, the TFN includes a check digit for detecting erroneous numbers. The algorithm

384-465: A business earns income as part of carrying on its business, it may quote its ABN instead of its TFN. The TFN was introduced initially to facilitate file tracking at the ATO, but has since been expanded to encompass income and other data matching. The TFN consists of a nine digit number, usually presented in the format nnn nnn nnn . Strict laws require that TFNs may be recorded or used only for specifically authorised tax-related purposes. The TFN serves

448-400: A business. The ABN facilitates and streamlines many Australian business-to-government and government-to-business processes, such as Australian Tax Office transactions involving the collection and remittance of GST. If a company has an ABN, it may use the ABN in place of the ACN on documents, preceded by the letters ABN. The ACN consists of nine digits and is generated using an algorithm with

512-514: A company changes its name for any reason, including a phoenix company , the ACN remains the same. Tax File Number A tax file number ( TFN ) is a unique identifier issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to each taxpaying entity—an individual, company, superannuation fund , partnership, or trust . Not all individuals have a TFN, and a business has both a TFN and an Australian Business Number (ABN). If

576-654: A dozen times. List showing the geographical location of the first three digits of the Social Security numbers assigned in the United States and its territories from 1936 until June 25, 2011. Repeated numbers indicate that they have been transferred to another location or are shared by more than one location. On June 25, 2011, the SSA changed the SSN assignment process to "SSN randomization". SSN randomization affects

640-417: A given SSN. The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft . This is because it is interconnected with many other forms of identification and people asking for it treat it as an authenticator . Financial institutions generally require an SSN to set up bank accounts , credit cards , and loans —partly because they assume that no one except the person it was issued to knows it. Exacerbating

704-402: A loan or a bank account without one. While the government cannot require an individual to disclose their SSN without a legal basis, companies may refuse to provide service to an individual who does not provide an SSN. The card on which an SSN is issued is still not suitable for primary identification as it has no photograph, no physical description, and no birth date. All it does is confirm that

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768-514: A particular number has been issued to a particular name. Instead, a driver's license or state ID card is used as an identification for adults. Internal Revenue Code section 6109(d) provides: "The social security account number issued to an individual for purposes of section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act [codified as 42 U.S.C.   § 405(c)(2)(A) ] shall, except as shall otherwise be specified under regulations of

832-599: A purpose similar to the American Social Security number , but its use is strictly limited by law to avoid the functionality creep which has affected the US counterpart. It also serves a similar function as national insurance in the UK . TFNs have been used by the ATO since the 1930s. At some point in time between 1972 and 1983 the format of tax file numbers changed. The earlier format was still in use in 1972, and

896-462: A record from the top of the first stack of 1,000 records and announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr. of New Rochelle, New York . However, since the Social Security numbers were not assigned in chronological order, Sweeney did not receive the lowest Social Security number, 001-01-0001. That distinction belongs to Grace D. Owen of Concord, New Hampshire . Before 1986, people often did not obtain

960-404: A reminder of the key provisions of the system, for example from Computershare : If an account is held in the names of multiple investors, each may choose whether to quote or not, but tax is withheld unless at least two have done so. In the few cases that a payee has not supplied the paying entity with their TFN by the time payment is to be made, unless if the payment is exempt, the paying entity

1024-506: A restraining order or police report is required. The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format "AAA-GG-SSSS". The number has three parts: the first three digits, called the area number because they were formerly assigned by geographical region; the middle two digits, the group number ; and the last four digits, the serial number . On June 25, 2011, the Social Security Administration changed

1088-433: A sole proprietor should give parents an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to use on their tax return. The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide their Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use. In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 CFR 422.103 , the number of replacement Social Security cards per person

1152-525: A straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001 to 9999 within the group. Before June 25, 2011, a valid SSN could not have an area number in the range 734–749, or above 772, the highest area number the Social Security Administration had allocated. Since June 25, 2011, the SSA has assigned SSNs randomly and allowed the assignment of area numbers 734–749 and 773–899. These are not Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs), which include additional area numbers. Some special numbers are never allocated: Until 2011,

1216-429: A total of over 40,000 people as their own. The SSA initiated an advertising campaign stating that it was incorrect to use the number (Hilda Whitcher was issued a new SSN). However, the number was found to be in use by 12 individuals as late as 1977. More recently, Todd Davis distributed his SSN in advertisements for his company's LifeLock identity theft protection service, which allowed his identity to be stolen over

1280-554: Is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens , permanent residents , and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act , codified as 42 U.S.C.   § 405(c)(2) . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration , an independent agency of the United States government . Although the original purpose for the number was for

1344-475: Is based on simple modulo 11 arithmetic per many other digit checksum schemes. The validity of the example TFN '123456782' can be checked by the following process The sum of the numbers is 253 (1 + 8 + 9 + 28 + 25 + 48 + 42 + 72 + 20 = 253). 253 is a multiple of 11 (11 × 23 = 253). Therefore, the number is valid. Social Security number In the United States , a Social Security number ( SSN )

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1408-421: Is capable of being accepted (such as advertisements which only promote the company and its goods or services in general); credit cards and credit card vouchers; machine-generated receipts, including cash-register receipts; business cards and 'with compliments' slips; and items which are not documents (e.g., vehicles, television advertisements). A company's ACN does not change even if the company changes its name or

1472-697: Is deregistered. Other measures introduced with the introduction of the GST included the Australian Business Number (ABN), removal of wholesale sales tax exemptions and changes to the FBT and changes to the treatment of trusts and charities. The last nine digits of a company's ABN usually comprises its ACN. The ABN is required when a person, trust or company is registered with the Australian Business Register (ABR) and conducts

1536-761: Is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime. Identity confusion has also occurred because of the use of local Social Security numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine. Similarly, Social Security numbers are often valued information for hackers to gain in attacks such as social engineering attacks, where attackers try and manipulate people into disclosing private information. For example, in

1600-404: Is legally required to withhold a TFN withholding tax amount at the highest marginal tax rate (currently 47%) from the payment the paying entity is about to make. Similar but stricter rules apply to businesses which do not supply their customers with an ABN. The paying entity would report the TFN and ABN withheld amounts on its next Business Activity Statement (BAS) and add the withheld amounts to

1664-426: Is required to apply for "an account number" using Form SS-5. A taxpayer who is not eligible to have a Social Security Number (SSN) must obtain an alternative Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Four different classifications of Social Security cards are issued. Such cards are issued by geographic location (SSN Area Number) to: There are two restricted types of Social Security cards: The cards commonly display

1728-447: Is said to be the ATO's last amnesty. The primary purpose of the enhanced TFN system is to allow the ATO to collect income and other information for taxpayers (officially known as "data matching"). This is done by the ATO requiring paying entities (e.g., banks, employers, public companies, superannuation funds, Centrelink and others) to electronically provide the ATO with information of certain types of payments made by them, together with

1792-492: The EDIPI . Social Security was originally a universal tax, but when Medicare was passed in 1965, objecting religious groups in existence prior to 1951 were allowed to opt out of the system. Because of this, not every American is part of the Social Security program, and not everyone has a number. However, a Social Security number is required for parents to claim their children as dependents for federal income tax purposes, and

1856-478: The New Deal Social Security program. Within three months, 25 million numbers were issued. On November 24, 1936, 1,074 of the nation's 45,000 post offices were designated "typing centers" to type up Social Security cards that were then sent to Washington, D.C. On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration selected

1920-416: The social engineering attack involving Hewlett-Packard , executives hired private investigators to manipulate phone companies into disclosing calling information and social security numbers of employees they suspected were leaking information to the press. A person can request a new Social Security number, but only under certain conditions: For all of these conditions, credible third-party evidence such as

1984-514: The ATO conducted this amnesty so that taxpayers who had previously failed to fully declare passive income such as bank interest, share dividends and so forth and other non-taxpayer persons who had failed to submit income tax returns in previous years could lodge retrospective amendments to returns or lodge retrospective returns. In such cases, persons claiming relief under the amnesty became liable for outstanding income tax, but were generally excused from fines and penalties that would have been imposed in

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2048-494: The Australian Taxation Office. A new taxpayer receives a tax file number within about a month of making an application and providing proof of identity . Centrelink helps those applying for certain benefits to apply for a TFN at the same time, if they do not already have one. For example, unemployment benefits are subject to the TFN withholding rules if a TFN is not quoted. A young person applying for such

2112-563: The Internal Revenue Service requires all corporations to obtain SSNs (or alternative identifying numbers) from their employees, as described below. The Old Order Amish have fought to prevent universal Social Security by overturning rules such as a requirement to provide a Social Security number for a hunting license. Social Security cards printed from January 1946 until January 1972 expressly stated that people should not use

2176-649: The Navy and Marine Corps for their personnel since January 1, 1972, and the Coast Guard for their personnel since October 1, 1974. Previously, the United States military used a much more complicated system of service numbers that varied by service. Beginning in June 2011, the DOD began removing the Social Security number from military identification cards, replacing them with a unique DOD identification number, formally known as

2240-575: The SSA published the last group number used for each area number. Because group numbers were allocated in a regular pattern, it was possible to identify an unissued SSN that contained an invalid group number. Now numbers are assigned randomly, and fraudulent SSNs are not easily detectable with publicly available information. Many online services, however, provide SSN validation. Unlike many similar numbers, Social Security numbers have no check digit . The Social Security Administration does not reuse Social Security numbers. It has issued over 450 million since

2304-475: The SSN assignment process to "SSN randomization", which did the following: Because Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are issued by the IRS, they are not affected by this SSA change. Before randomization, the first three digits, the area numbers , were assigned by geographical region. Before 1973, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country, and the area number represented

2368-790: The Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate], be used as the identifying number for such individual for purposes of this title [the Internal Revenue Code, title 26 of the United States Code ]." The Internal Revenue Code also provides, when required by regulations prescribed by the secretary of the treasury or their delegate: According to U.S. Treasury regulations, any person who, after October 31, 1962, works as an employee for wages subject to Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, or U.S. federal income tax withholdings

2432-460: The Social Security Administration to track individuals, the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes. A Social Security number may be obtained by applying on Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Number Card. Social Security numbers were first issued by the Social Security Administration in November 1936 as part of

2496-562: The Treasurer Paul Keating announced that the Government intended to introduce an enhanced TFN scheme, and legislation establishing the scheme was passed that year. When the legislation was introduced in 1988 the 8 and 9 digit TFN scheme still applied. However, as the 8 digit TFNs were becoming exhausted, all new taxpayers are issued 9 digit TFNs. The numbers now do not have any embedded meaning. One implication of

2560-438: The United States, although rare errors occur where duplicates do exist. A few duplications did occur when prenumbered cards were sent out to regional SSA offices and (originally) post offices. Employee, patient, student, and credit records are sometimes indexed by Social Security number. The U.S. Armed Forces have used the Social Security number as an identification number for Army and Air Force personnel since July 1, 1969,

2624-447: The absence of the amnesty. The amnesty was subsequently extended beyond October 31 1988, with late enrolled amnesty participants being given until April 15 1989 to lodge amended tax returns or lodge formerly missing returns disclosing additional previously undeclared income. In 2014 the ATO conducted a second amnesty, known as Project DOIT (Disclose Offshore Income Today). The 2014 Amnesty was directed at income overseas. The 2014 Amnesty

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2688-500: The areas assigned to a locality were exhausted, new areas from the pool were assigned, so some states had noncontiguous groups of numbers. The middle two digits, group number , range from 01 to 99. Even before SSN randomization, the group numbers were not assigned consecutively in an area. Instead, for administrative reasons, group numbers were issued in the following order: Group number 98, for example, would be issued before 11. The last four digits, serial numbers , were assigned in

2752-402: The arrears, plus interest on the arrears). In view of the new legislation, the ATO offered an amnesty from these penalties as incentive for affected persons to amend their returns for preceding years – by including previously undeclared interest income – pay their outstanding tax – without the available penalties being imposed on the increased tax liabilities. Between May 1988 and October 31 1988

2816-423: The associated TFN of the recipient. When taxpayers file their income tax returns at the end of the financial year, the ATO can electronically match the income reported by the taxpayer against the payments reported by the paying entities. The types of income payments covered by the TFN data matching rules include: Other information provided to the ATO using the TFN includes health insurance information, as well as

2880-510: The cardholder's name and number. In 2004 Congress passed The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act; parts of which mandated that the Social Security Administration redesign the SSN card to prevent forgery. From April 2006 through August 2007, the SSA and Government Printing Office (GPO) employees were assigned to redesign the Social Security number card to the specifications of the Interagency Task Force created by

2944-480: The commissioner of Social Security in consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security. The new SSN card design utilizes both covert and overt security features created by the SSA and GPO design teams. Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm that uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct

3008-421: The company (if any); every public document issued, signed or published by, or on behalf of, the company; every eligible negotiable instrument issued, signed or published by, or on behalf of, the company; and all documents required to be lodged with ASIC. An ACN is not required on (at least): packaging and labelling, including envelopes and transport documents; advertisements which do not make a specific offer which

3072-483: The company name, which might vary from one to 80 characters. This was found to be an inefficient system, which lead to problems, particularly if two company names differed in one of the middle letters, for example: Strudle Pty Ltd and Stradle Pty Ltd. Unique identifiers, like the ACN, were introduced to reduce fraud and mistakes by clearly differentiating companies and subsidiaries having similar names, since companies with similar names will tend to have different ACNs. If

3136-450: The enhanced system using TFNs to match interest and dividend income with tax file numbers and their corresponding entities – or absence of TFNs/corresponding entities as the case may be – was that it would be increasingly difficult to hide such income from the ATO. There was also a risk that in cases where the undisclosed past tax liabilities were large, offenders could be identified and pursued for arrears plus severe penalties (a percentage of

3200-448: The excess of tax. Some people and organisations are exempt from TFN withholding; they may state their exemption category instead of quoting a TFN. This includes: People and organisations in these categories may still need to submit a tax return, but generally speaking these exemptions mean those not needing to submit a tax return don't need to get a tax file number. The exemption for children does not apply to company dividends, and if

3264-410: The front, many people used Whitcher's SSN as their own. The Social Security Administration's account of the incident also claims that the fake card was half the size of a real card, despite a miniature card being useless for its purpose and despite Whitcher's holding two cards of apparently identical size in the accompanying photograph. Over time, the number that appeared (078-05-1120) has been claimed by

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3328-483: The last digit being a check digit allowing the number to be verified. In the case of the algorithm for the ABN, the ABN consists of 11 digits, the first two of which are check digits.) The last 9 digits of an ABN do not always comply with the ASIC ACN algorithm, for example, the ABN of the Australian Taxation Office is 51 824 753 556. Prior to the introduction of the nine-digit ACN, filings with ASIC were based on

3392-487: The later format was in use by 1983. Under the later format, the TFN itself was either 8 or 9 digits, with a check digit. Individuals received a 9 digit TFN and non-individuals received an 8 digit TFN. The quote of the TFN was not obligatory when, for example, lodging a tax return, though failing to quote one may delay the processing of the tax return. In May 1988, following the demise of the Australia Card scheme,

3456-428: The number and card for identification. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has an SSN, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message was removed. Since then, Social Security numbers have become de facto national identification numbers . Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities such as applying for

3520-467: The number of children they supported. During the first year of the Tax Reform Act, this anti-fraud change resulted in seven million fewer minor dependents being claimed. The disappearance of these dependents is believed to have involved either children who never existed or tax deductions improperly claimed by non-custodial parents. In 1988, the threshold was lowered to two years old, and in 1990,

3584-504: The office that issued the card. This did not have to be in the area where the applicant lived, because one could apply for a card in any Social Security office. Beginning in 1973, when the SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore , the area number was assigned according to the ZIP Code of the mailing address on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant's mailing address did not have to be

3648-451: The payment it needs to make to the ATO. The paying entity would also advise the recipient of the TFN withheld amount. The TFN withheld amount becomes a prepayment of tax by the taxpayer whose funds have been withheld. When the taxpayer files an income tax return he or she would need to claim the so-called "TFN amounts" against his or her final tax liability, and any excess is refunded. The taxpayer needs to file an income tax return to get back

3712-427: The problem of using the Social Security number as an identifier is the fact that the Social Security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN truly belongs to someone without relying on other documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has proposed federal laws that restrict

3776-521: The purchase and sale of property, such as real estate and shares. Because of the community backlash against the aborted Australia Card scheme, the expanded TFN rules are technically optional. The taxpayer entitled to such income payments has a choice between quoting the TFN, or not doing so. As a general rule taxpayers quote their TFN. Institutions usually help by reminding or inviting clients to do so on any new source of income (e.g., new accounts, new debentures, new shareholdings). Forms for quoting include

3840-413: The same as their place of residence, so the area number did not necessarily represent the applicant's state of residence, regardless of whether the card was issued before or after 1973. Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving south and west, so that people applying from addresses on the east coast had the lowest numbers and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. As

3904-517: The start of the program, about 5.5 million per year. It says it has enough to last several generations without reuse and without changing the number of digits. There have been accidental assignments of the same number to more than one person. Some SSNs used in advertising have rendered those numbers invalid. One famous instance of this occurred in 1938 when the E. H. Ferree Company in Lockport, New York , decided to promote its product by showing how

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3968-487: The threshold was lowered yet again to one year old. Today, an SSN is required regardless of the child's age to receive an exemption. Since then, parents have often applied for Social Security numbers for their children soon after birth; today, it can be done on the application for a birth certificate . The original purpose of this number was to track individuals' accounts within the Social Security program. It has since come to be used as an identifier for individuals within

4032-487: The use of SSNs for identification and bans their use for a number of commercial purposes—e.g., rental applications. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers alternatives to SSNs in some places where providing untrusted parties with identification numbers is essential. Tax return preparers must obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) to include on their client's tax returns (as part of signature requirements). Day care services have tax benefits, and even

4096-451: Was adopted in Australia on 1 July 2000, as one of the complementary measures when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced. All companies registered at the time were issued with an ACN by ASIC. On registration of a company under Australia's Corporations Act 2001 , it is issued with an ACN. Companies are required to display their ACN on the common seal (if any) and every other seal of

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