Newsflash Item – Directorships of Australian Companies
Amendments to director penalty regime – draft legislation released
Draft legislation has been release by David Bradbury, the Assistant Treasurer that will amend the law ostensibly to protect employees entitlements. However the new provisions penalise directors personally, and will apply in many cases where the director could be unaware that payments haven’t been made. The penalties/liabilities will apply without notice, and in some cases the director may be without a chance to address the matter.
The main aspects of these amendments involve:-
- Expanding the director penalty regime to superannuation guarantee amounts
- Ensuring that directors cannot have their director penalties remitted by placing their company into administration or liquidation when unpaid Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding or superannuation guarantee amounts remain unpaid three months after the due date and
- Restricting access to PAYG withholding credits for company directors and their associates where the company has failed to pay withheld amounts to the Commissioner of Taxation.
Where we act as company director, clients will understand the need for us to ensure we obtain the necessary quarterly due diligence in respect of taxes in light of the ramifications. In cases where we not perform the regular accounting updates and lodgement of taxation forms, we would appreciate if clients put in place procedures to have the necessary documentation sent to us without the need for us to contact you.
