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posted by janrinok on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the having-money-is-now-a-crime dept.

Australian senators who are tired of people spending their own money using cash want to put a stop to it with an audacious plan to limit cash transactions to $10,000 with a penalty of jail time for anyone who oversteps. This may sound a bit harsh, but what they really want to crack down on is the so-called 'black market' of cash transactions and dodgy people like drug dealers who have wads of cash stacked away and of course criminals who buy houses with suitcases of bills and then sell the house a while later effectively cleaning the money.

The first iteration of the proposal received significant criticism as personal transactions, such as buying a car, would be caught in the net. The Australian government has been clear about its intention to move society to cashless payments which benefits the government in many ways. Already in place are systems to force house buyers to lodge monies for properties with an escrow service (PEXA) where their money can be stolen with no recourse and no way to avoid the system.

If passed, the law would come into effect on January 1, 2020 and would apply to all cash payments made to businesses with an ABN. The penalties, jail time and fine would apply to both the individual and the business part of the transaction.

There are a couple of exemptions to the cash ban.

  • The $10,000 cash limit would not apply to individual-to-individual transactions, such as the private sale of a second-hand car.
  • The limit also wouldn't apply when depositing or withdrawing money from a bank.

[...] Head of CPA Australia, Dr Gary Pflugrath, agreed there needed to be a crackdown on the black economy but said linking criminal activity to all large cash transactions was "a step too far".

"This legislation is attempting to deal with a symptom, not the cause, of the black economy. While the use of cash in a large transaction may be an indicator of risk, it does not prove by itself that the behaviour is criminal," Dr Pflugrath said.

"The presumption that only tax evaders, money launderers and criminals use cash, and the mindset that these new offences are required to address criminality, has resulted in a proposed bill and instrument that run counter to well-established criminal law principles and have the potential to affect many Australians.

"The focus on criminalising certain cash transactions is an extreme response to the problem of avoiding scrutiny."


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @06:48AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @06:48AM (#885096)

    The limit also wouldn't apply when depositing or withdrawing money from a bank.

    What absolute BS. Try taking out 10K right now in cash. First, you may not even be able to do it. Second, they demand to know the reason why, what you intend on doing with it, what you will buy with it or give it to.

    Are they planning on repealing the current level of intrusiveness when withdrawing cash?

    Same applies with currency exchange. Given the last experience next time it will just be easier to keep the cash in storage for the next overseas trip rather than go through changing it back again.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:33AM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:33AM (#885108) Journal

    One might presume that you are Australian, and speaking for Australia. We have much the same here in the states, so a presumption that you are American might be valid. It's good advice for people to always keep cash on hand. Of course, people who live payday-to-payday aren't going to keep much more than $100 on hand, and maybe not even that.

    Alright, I'll admit, I don't keep $10k on hand, so the whole $10k limit pretty much misses me. Still, I don't like people or corporations tracking me, so cash is good.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @03:48PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @03:48PM (#885214)

      Remember that in the states, if a law enforcement officer discovers that you have too large an amount of cash on you, it will be taken away from you on the theory that you obviously have done something wrong. ("too large" is not defined in any way, of course)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:38AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:38AM (#885109)

    What absolute BS. Try taking out 10K right now in cash

    That's because of "anti-money laundering laws". It's also pretty stupid to do large transactions like that with literal cash. People wanting to take out large amount of cash is these days an indication of something weird happening.

    Same thing for deposits. You normally can't walk into a bank with a suitcase of cash.

    And it's not *you* need to explain things. *Banks* have to explain these things during an audit. They get big fines if they can't explain where the money is coming and going.

    Same applies with currency exchange. Given the last experience next time it will just be easier to keep the cash in storage for the next overseas trip rather than go through changing it back again.

    Not sure how much cash you are talking about, but I've never had problem with exchanging currency in target country. For cash, you get better exchange there for common currencies like Euro or USD. And then there are banks that will not charge markup to do transaction in other currencies, not sure if American banks do that.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:38PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:38PM (#885228)

      That's because of "anti-money laundering laws". It's also pretty stupid to do large transactions like that with literal cash. People wanting to take out large amount of cash is these days an indication of something weird happening.

      Do you find it difficult to type with the government's cock rammed so far up your throat?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:37PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:37PM (#885257)

        no shit! what kind of disgusting whore makes excuses for bankster scum.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @04:24PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @04:24PM (#885692)

    Try taking out 10K right now in cash. First, you may not even be able to do it. Second, they demand to know the reason why, what you intend on doing with it, what you will buy with it or give it to.

    American here. I've done this. Multiple times and in a couple different ways. There was no hassle either way. One example, I took out $14k to buy a car. The bank asked why I was taking out that much cash and I told them. No problem. They counted out a whole bunch of 100's for me. (note, the seller wanted cash and cash only - I wanted the car). The second time, a fairly new motorcycle at $11k. This time the seller was OK with a certified check. We both walked into the bank, they produced the certified check for me, I gave it to them, and the deal was done. No questions asked this time. I've also sold cars and ended up with more than $10k in cash. Same process. No hassles.

    For the vast majority of cases, the bank doesn't care, they just need to fill in a box. You give them a legitimate reason, they fill in the box, and you are good to go. If anyone in the government has questions, I can provide the bill of sale for everything, so I'm not worried in the least.