Stressed about tax debt? Help is available!

Where has this year gone? The ATO are back issuing statutory demands and windup’s!

So what can be done if you are in this situation?

For many clients the level of ATO debt is higher than it has ever been. The ATO is also focused on collecting debt,. In 2022, 120 Director Penalty Notices were being issued daily, Statutory Demands being issued (even when the client has been talking to the ATO), and the threat of a director becoming personally liable for their company’s debt is now very real.

The good news is there is help available, and some great solutions, if you just know where to look and get the right help.

When speaking with clients, many believe that to be ‘compliant’ in the ATO’s eyes you must have paid all of your tax outstanding debt.  This leads to a fear of engaging with the ATO if someone has any debt and they can’t pay in full.

This is not correct.

The ATO considers a tax payer compliant once they are in an agreed payment arrangement.  When properly negotiated, this arrangement won’t include any upfront payment at all, and the monthly amounts are designed to match the clients cash flow and hence be affordable without any added financial stress.  They actually take the stress away as they fit in with the client’s ongoing cash flow and take into account payment of ongoing tax liabilities.

Specialist taxation services can talk to the ATO on your behalf!

Another solution that many people are not aware of, is that even if you have paid your ATO debt in full, if there were penalties and interest that had previously been incurred, and was paid out, preparation and submission of an application for the interest and penalty to be remitted can be completed.

This means you can use this to offset future tax liabilities or even obtain a refund as a cash payment. This is a huge advantage for businesses to be able to inject cash back into the business cash flow.

If you are in this situation, now is the time to seek advice. 

^{_{Published 24 September 2022
This article was written and supplied by Olga Koskie}}