AS a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, tax debts have been slowly increasing for many businesses. When Covid-19 struck in 2020, the Austrlian Taxation Office (ATO) put a halt on it's debt recovery action. But that is no longer the case, with the ATO debt recovery team back in action.

In November 2021 the ATO addressed their massive $55 billion tax debt (as at 30 June 2021), and warned that debt recovery action would recommence with a ‘tailored approach’.

As the level of debt will no doubt continue to increase, the ATO debt recovery team is  now taking a more aggressive collection campaign, noted recently noted with an increased use of Garnishee Notices and Director Penalty Notices as a mechanism to recover the outstanding debt.

We strongly urge any businesses with outstanding GST, and more importantly PAYG and SGC, to work with us to come up with resolution strategies for  these debts immediately.

It  is inevitable that businesses will no longer be able to prolong unpaid tax debts without consequence, given the ATO's enforcement of debt recovery actions.

If you are concerned about your financial situation, or require any assistance, please contact us as soon as possible.