Government Set on Countering Phoenix Activities
The Government has proposed tax law changes to counter fraudulent phoenix activities by company directors. Such activities involve the deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying tax liabilities and employee superannuation. The business then “rises” again and continues operations controlled by the same person, but under another corporate entity and free of debts. The proposed tax law changes include making directors personally liable for unpaid employee superannuation, and allowing the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to pursue directors where certain tax debts remain unpaid and unreported three months after the due day.
The changes would place additional pressure on directors to ensure that their company’s tax risk management policies and systems are up-to-date. It should also be noted that the ATO, as part of its Compliance Program for this year, intends to detect potential phoenix activities sooner through a targeted program of reviews and audits of directors.
