Why tax credits and refunds are being offset
Is your refund or credit less than expected? The ATO has reached out to small businesses who may have recently received a letter advising that they have a debt on hold and any credits or refunds would be offset against this debt. As a result, such a small business may find that their refund or […]
Disclosure of business tax debts to CRBs
Credit Reporting Bureaus The ATO is in the process of writing to taxpayers that may be eligible to have their tax debts disclosed to credit reporting bureaus (‘CRBs’). The ATO can potentially report outstanding tax debts to a CRB where the following criteria are satisfied: The taxpayer has an Australian business number and is not […]
Disclosure of business tax debts
Taxation Administration (Tax Debt Information Disclosure) Declaration 2019 Following the enactment of legislation in late 2019, the ATO can disclose certain business tax debt information to external credit reporting bureaus. This information will primarily be used when issuing external creditworthiness reports in relation to relevant businesses, effectively treating tax debts in a similar manner to […]
Tax housekeeping
Private health insurance statements now optional Taxpayers with private health insurance should be aware that insurance providers are no longer required to provide statements to their members. Taxpayers lodging their tax returns using a registered tax agent should have their health insurance details ‘pre-filled’ into their return (but they will need to contact their health […]
Robocall technology targets taxpayers
Scammers impersonate ATO phone numbers The ATO is warning that scammers have adopted ‘Robocall’ technology to target taxpayers across the country. Assistant Commissioner Gavin Siebert said: “Scammers are sending pre-recorded messages in record numbers and are manipulating caller identification so that your phone displays a legitimate ATO phone number despite coming from an overseas scammer”. […]
ATO lodgment obligations
External collection agencies to enforce ATO lodgment obligations The ATO has finalised a trial relating to sending overdue taxpayer lodgment obligations to external collection agencies. As a result, it may now refer taxpayers to an external collection agency to secure tax return lodgment. The ATO has stated that it will only refer a taxpayer to […]
‘Fake tax debt’ scam warning
Scam Warning – Scammers may be impersonating Tax Agents In a recent twist in the ‘fake tax debt’ scam, we have received increasing reports of a new scam method where scammers impersonate registered agents to lend legitimacy to their phone call. The fraudsters do this by: coercing the victim into revealing their tax agent’s name, […]
ATO’s Transparency of tax debt measure
Businesses encouraged to engage with the ATO and pay debts in a timely manner to avoid credit reporting In the 2016–2017 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal OutlookExternal Link (MYEFO), the government announced that the ATO will be allowed to report to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs) the tax debt information of businesses that do not effectively engage with the ATO to […]
