The Government has released for consultation draft Taxation Administration (Tax Debt Information Disclosure) Declaration 2019 which will declare a class of entities whose tax debt information may be disclosed to credit reporting bureaus by taxation officers.
Entities that fall within the declared class of entities under the Declaration are entities that:
- are registered in the Australian Business Register, other than as deductible gift recipients, complying superannuation funds, registered charities or government entities; and
- have one or more tax debts, the total of which is at least $100,000, that have been overdue for more than 90 days; and
- after taking reasonable steps, the Commissioner of Taxation has been able to confirm with the Inspector-General of Taxation that no complaint remains active by the entity concerning the disclosure of tax debt information of the entity that is, or could be, the subject of an investigation under paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Inspector-General of Taxation Act 2003.
If an entity is effectively engaging with the Commissioner to manage a tax debt or taking action in accordance with the law to dispute the debt, that tax debt will not be taken into account when working out whether the entity has a total tax debt of at least $100,000 that has been overdue for more than 90 days.
