The ATO can now disclose tax debt information of businesses to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs), but only if certain criteria are met. Those criteria will be set out in a Legislative Instrument that is being finalised.
The Government has said that the ATO will only disclose tax debt information to a CRB if the business has an ABN and one or more tax debts of at least $100,000 that are overdue by more than 90 days.
It’s also important to note that businesses that are engaging with the ATO to manage their tax debts or are disputing the calculation of a tax debt through the AAT or the courts, will not have their tax debt information reported to CRBs.
The ATO has also said that it will apply administrative safeguards above and beyond the legislative ones before reporting the tax debt information of a business.
