Breaking News - ATO Press Release on Debt Collection

IN SUMMARY

• The ATO wants taxpayers to engage with the ATO, ie respond to calls, set up a payment plan
• If not, the ATO is now “taking firmer actions. These include garnishees, recovery of director penalties, disclosure of business tax debts, and legal actions including summons, creditors petition, wind-up and insolvency action.
• The ATO is starting with larger debts and superannuation debts of any size
• The ATO has sent 52,000 Director Penalty Notice warning letters. These are not actual DPNs. A DPN can make a director personally liable for the company’s debts to the ATO.
• The ATO is issuing 30-40 actual DPNs a day and expects to increase this.
• The ATO has sent 29,000 letters warning businesses of potential disclosure of their ATO debt to credit reporting bureaus, which they can do for business ATO debt >$100,000.