BUSINESSES: Did you know current your tax debt could affect your future borrowing ability and the credit history of your business?!

Get informed and take action.

The Government has announced that it will allow the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disclose tax debt information of businesses to registered Credit Reporting Bureaus.

Why has this been actioned?

• To provide transparency of overdue tax debts of businesses to support more informed decision making in the business community.
• To reduce unfair advantages gained by businesses that do not pay their tax on time.

Credit Reporting Bureaus may include the tax debt information in their credit reports which are available for purchase by parties (i.e. Banks) to use this information to make an informed decision on the credit worthiness of a business.

Who does this effect?

• An entity with a debt of at least $100,000 which is overdue for more than 90 days
• An entity not effectively engaging with the ATO to manage their tax
• An entity registered on the Australian Business Register.

Before disclosing a taxpayer’s tax debt information, the ATO must notify a business in writing and make them aware that they meet the reporting criteria and give the taxpayer 28 days opportunity to engage with the ATO to take action and prevent their debt from being reported.

What now?

You need to get in contact with the ATO. Please contact the ATO to arrange full payment of your tax debt, or alternatively they can assist you to set up a payment arrangement. The ATO have quite a few payment options you can discuss with them (read more here) or call them directly on 13 11 42 to discuss your account and payment options over the phone.