New data from the Australian Taxation Office has revealed that more than 7200 small businesses have taken advantage of the tax amnesty being offered by the office, with more than 19,500 eligible overdue forms lodged in the past couple of months.
The news comes on the back of the tax amnesty program that the ATO introduced in May, which waives failure to lodge penalties for Australian small businesses.
The amnesty applies to small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million with overdue income tax returns, business activity statements and fringe benefits tax returns that were due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022
Small businesses, especially those with potential overdue tax payments, are urged to take advantage of the amnesty which is set to end on 31 December 2023.
“This is a great opportunity to proactively engage with the ATO and take advantage of the remission of late lodgement penalties,” Angus Sedgwick, CEO of financing company OptiPay, said. “Taking a ‘head in the sand’ approach will mean more pain and expense in the near future as the ATO will catch up with businesses that have not lodged returns.
“Once you have lodged the overdue returns, I would then recommend engaging with the ATO to agree to a tax payment plan to pay the arrears,” Sedgwick added.
The ATO is currently owed $30 billion in tax debt including $1.6 billion in superannuation payments owed to employees.
“Now would be a good time to remind company directors that in some circumstances they can be personally liable for unpaid GST, PAYG and unpaid employee superannuation guarantee payments,” Sedgwick concluded.
