A bill to limit the use of cash was passed in the House of Representatives last week and will now be subject to a Senate committee review before it is dealt with in the upper house. The bill has attracted a lot of criticism.Under the proposed change, cash transactions of A$10,000 or more will be banned. The payment can be a single payment or a series of payments relating to one supply.The bill, Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019, is in response to a recommendation of the Black Economy Taskforce, which recommended that the Government take action to tackle tax evasion and other criminal activities by limiting the use of cash.The explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill says this measure "ensures that entities cannot make large payments in cash so as to avoid creating records of the payment and facilitating their participation in the black economy and undertaking relate illicit activities."The cash payment limit is scheduled to take effect from 1 January 2020.The limit will not apply to transactions where an authorised deposit-taking institution accepts deposits or pays out withdrawals.The information memorandum says: "Exempting those entities will be necessary for the public to have a legitimate way of moving large amounts of cash into and out of the financial system."Foreign currency exchange services regulated under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act will also be exempt.ADIs and currency exchanges will continue to submit threshold reports when they engage in transactions involving an amount of $10,000 or more.The bill makes provision for the Treasurer to specify specific transactions that will not be covered by the limit.Offences extend to some conduct that applies outside Australia, so that "entities that are closely linked to Australia cannot escape the application of the cash payment limit in relation to supplies occurring in Australia by arranging for payment to take place outside Australia".Among objections to the bill, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that cash was not the cause of black economy activity. It also said the government should not be undermining the value of cash.Others argued that it was a breach of civil liberty and an invasion of privacy. And some suggested that the use of cash was being restricted as a way of exerting control over people's use of their money in a financial crisis, such as the GFC.CPA Australia said the penalties were excessive. Penalties include fines of up to $25,200 and jail terms of up to two years. It said there was no strong evidence to justify an "extraordinary penalty" for the use of legal tender.CPA Australia also said there already sufficient checks and balances in the system to deal with criminal activity.