Survival of the Fittest

It’s an age old adage which Darwin postulated and now the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is incorporating into its approach on collecting overdue tax liabilities from businesses, estimated to total at $15 billion.

The tax commissioner, Michael D’Ascenzo has been reported as saying that the ATO is using a new assessment tool to identify businesses which may not be viable by using information from bank statements and balance sheets. He compares this to tools used by banks to make decisions regarding credit worthiness.

This is a major shift from the ATO’s previous approach to businesses which were struggling with tax debts which was more ‘gentle’ in collecting outstanding debts. The recovery actions have been increased dramatically and now include issuing bankruptcy notices.

Should your business have outstanding taxation liabilities, it would be prudent to contact us to discuss how we may be able to assist you in managing your tax affairs and liabilities more effectively.