Transparency of business tax debts

13/02/2018

ARITA, the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) and the Australian Institute of Credit Management (AICM) have made a joint submission to Treasury on the Exposure Draft of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Transparency) Bill 2018.

The submission recommends that the Bill be amended to:

(i) modify the provision to restrict the Commissioner’s discretion to notify a credit reporting bureau that a particular taxpayer no longer falls within the class of entities whose tax debt information can be disclosed to circumstances where the initial listing was listed in error; and

(ii) insert a provision which allows the Commissioner to update a credit reporting bureau that a particular taxpayer has:

• paid the business tax debt in full;
• paid a reduced amount in relation to the business tax debt under a settlement with the ATO or a Tribunal or Court order, with the balance expunged;
• had the business tax debt expunged in full under a settlement with the ATO or a Tribunal or Court order;
• is currently paying the tax debt via a repayment arrangement; and/or
• has disputed the tax debt and it is currently subject to a formal dispute/review process.

The closing date for submissions was Friday 9 February 2018.