SMEs recoil at tax debts collections acceleration

Ian Rogers

More than half of all small and medium businesses are feeling the heat from the renewed campaign by the Australian Taxation Office to show tough love towards outstanding business tax debts.

Research by East and Partners that will soon be published by business financier ScotPac found that 51% of SMEs want relief from ATO collection activities, while 62% “confirm they have been impacted by ATO debt in the past 18 months.”

The temperature may soon to scorching hot, leading to a tempest of business failures as the ATO pursues the appointment of liquidators to tens and then hundreds of thousands of businesses over the next year or so.

The budget and resourcing for the Australian Taxation Office will rise materially over the 2024/25 financial year, last night’s 2024 budget papers show.

The average staffing level at the Tax Office next year will be 21,350 up from 19,759 this year. Plenty of these new staff will be working the phones and working with private debt collectors to maximise collections, which unfortunately will mean maximising the number of business failures.

The ATO’s budget will increase by $200 million to $4.5 billion next year.