The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) published a notice on Thursday, 9 May, 2024, regarding the availability of tax payment relief options for struggling businesses in Australia.
According to the ATO, paying the tax bill in full, and on time, helps taxpayers avoid paying the General Interest Charge (GIC), which is currently 11.34% and accrues daily for any overdue debts.
However, if businesses are dealing with financial difficulties, there are some options to help make the tax bill less burdensome.
Taxpayers with businesses facing challenges are eligible to set up a payment plan. If they owe AUD 200,000 or less, they can use the online services. If they can’t or owe more than AUD 200,000, they can contact the ATO and consult with a tax professional to discuss the available options. However, they must pay any overdue debt as soon as possible.
Taxpayers may be eligible for a GIC remission
Taxpayers can ask ATO to remit their GIC. The ATO may look at their request and take into account whether they paid your tax bill late because of circumstances that were:
- beyond their control and what steps they took to relieve the effects of those circumstances;
- within their control but led to results that they were unable to foresee.
Taxpayers looking for tax relief can find out more about requesting a remission of interest charges on the ATO website. This includes instructions on downloading the new GIC remission application form and submitting it using secure mail in online services for business.
