The man who headed the Federal Government's Black Economy Taskforce — the late Michael Andrew (he died in June) had previously said that the biggest hurdle to tackling the black economy is cultural. Australians, he said, viewed taking cash-only payments and not declaring it as "almost a national sport". The taskforce went on to estimate the cost of the illegal cash economy could now be about 3 per cent of GDP — roughly $50 billion. But, this figure, it said, was a qualitative estimate, based on a wide definition of what activities make up the black economy. The $50 billion estimate included a host of activities including underpaying wages or paying for work cash-in-hand, under-reporting income, sham contracting, phoenixing, identity fraud, ABN and GST fraud, evasion of illicit tobacco, money laundering, unregulated gambling, criminal acts, counterfeit goods and illegal drugs.
Nassim Khadem, 'Banning cash so you pay the bank to hold your money is what the IMF wants', ABC