Delay in tax evasion crackdown is costing the taxpayer billions

Money laundering and tax evasion are costing Australian taxpayers tens of billions of dollars each year. So why is the government dragging its feet?

• Phoenixing: how unscrupulous dealers rise debt-free from the ashes of failed companies

The federal government's glacially slow pace in delivering the tools to combat phoenixing and money laundering has delivered benefits to an unlikely constituency: organised crime.

Revenue lost from money laundering, tax evasion schemes and phoenixing of companies - often orchestrated by unscrupulous accountants and lawyers - is costing Australian taxpayers tens of billions each year.