The ATO has begun utilising new powers allowing it to disclose business tax debts of more than $100,000 to credit reporting bureaus.

There are reports of businesses with over $100,000 in tax debts recently receiving letters (orange coloured we hear) from the Tax Office, warning of the agency's intent to disclose if the business/es do not make an effort to manage the debt within 28 days. There are reassurances that businesses that actively work with the ATO to manage their tax debt will not be reported to credit agencies.

These new powers passed into law in late 2019, but then 2020 hit and ATO debt and lodgement compliance activity was suspended. There is an argument that now is not the time to start, but it's reported that around 5,000 businesses are potentially 'caught' by the $100,000 threshold - which includes income tax debts, activity statement debts, superannuation debts, FBT debts and penalties & interest charges.