Progress for freight and IT tax crackdown

Draft laws to ensure payments made to contractors by road freight, security and information technology entities are reported to the Australian Taxation Office have passed the first green light of federal parliament.

The measures are part of a crackdown on the so called "black economy", and will deliver almost $550 million to government coffers by 2021/22.

The ATO had deemed contractors in road freight, security and IT industries to be at high risk of not reporting their income, government minister David Coleman said as the legislation passed the lower house on Wednesday.