Bankruptcy & Winding up cases initiated by the ATO

Business client groups are increasingly subject to debt collection litigation, rising personal and corporate insolvency – How can you best support your clients?

The ATO continues to be funded by Government to increase collection activity for small business and private group debts, which has resulted in increased recognition of, and firmer attempts to collect, those debts – right through to personal and corporate insolvency action.

This has highlighted the importance of tax advisors effectively engaging with the ATO to try to manage such cases with the Commissioner, in line with the law, policy and decided cases.

The session will look at:

• Context for current ‘harder-edged’ debt collection programs targeting small business and private groups
• The precursor steps to personal (Judgment Debts) and corporate (Statutory Demands) insolvency
• Importance of ‘genuine disputes’ – but noting the hardening line from the ATO on accepting late objections at the insolvency proceeding stage
• Options to avoid (or manage) potential insolvency:

• Release for serious financial hardship (individual income tax only)
• Compromise offers
• Personal Insolvency Agreements

• ATO Practice Statement on debt
• Relevant case law as practical examples of how these matters tend to be managed in real-life
• Suggested approaches to optimise the prospects of success in dealing with potential insolvency cases through better engagement with the ATO (and providing better/more persuasive supporting evidence).

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will gain an improved understanding of:

• the ATO’s current small business and private wealth debt collection strategies

• ATO statutory powers to rely upon the presumed correctness and thus collectability of ATO assessments – unless challenged under Pt IVC (objection and/or review/appeal)

• ATO administrative approaches to dealing with ‘late’ objections

• Case law about how the courts see these cases working in practice
• Some strategies to optimise the prospects of success in dealing with potential insolvency cases for individuals and companies

Suited to:

Accountants, tax practitioners, BAS agents, lawyers and other practitioners serving small businesses, private groups and wealthy individuals.

This On Demand recording Includes: 

• Recording of the Live Webinar, which can be viewed multiple times, for as long as required 
• Presenters contact details for follow up questions 
• CPD Quiz
• CPD Certificate 
• CPD Report – Logged automatically 
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Verbatim Transcript, with Searchability
• Supporting Documentation