CCSG Legal Pty Ltd has the expertise and experience in taxation law to assist clients with their ongoing business needs. We understand that the taxation laws can be complicated and situation arise where there may be issues between the treatment of taxation affairs as perceived between the ATO and our clients. We specialise in assisting clients throughout the following processes:
- Seeking an internal ATO review of any preliminary audit determinations.
- Drafting objections to any notices of assessment or notice of amended assessment issued by the ATO.
- Seeking review of ATO objection decisions in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
- Seeking to appeal ATO objection decisions directly to the Federal Court of Australia or appealing Administrative Appeal Tribunal decisions through the Federal Court of Australia.
We are able to assist clients by liaising with their accountants and advisors to refine arguments made on objection and ensure that the objection is best placed to proceed to hearing in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or Federal Court. Should the objection decision return unfavourable, we will assist with the preparation of an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or Federal Court, along with preparation of the necessary documents to have the matter progress to hearing or a negotiated settlement.
We can assist our clients through these processes amongst a variety of different areas of the various taxation acts including:
- Income Tax
- Goods and Services Tax
- Capital Gains Tax
- Superannuation
We strive to provide high quality legal support and assistance in the above areas. Our staff has vast experience in interacting with the ATO which we use to facilitate negotiations.
Interest and Penalty Charges
For a variety of reasons the ATO may impose various general interest charges, shortfall interest charges and penalties on a taxpayer’s account. The most common form of penalty that a taxpayer will face will be the general interest charge, which is applied on outstanding taxation liabilities on a daily compounding basis. Whilst the general interest charge might be tax deductable, it can often impose a heavy burden on taxpayers given that its rate is 7% above the base cash rate.
Many taxpayers find themselves in a situation where the general interest charge will be imposed on their account due to unforeseen circumstances that have delayed the taxpayer’s ability to make their taxation payments on time. It is these circumstances along with other factors set out in the ATO’s various practice statements that may raise grounds for a remission of the general interest charges.
We specialise in assisting clients with drafting applications for remission of the general interest charge and other penalties applied by the ATO. There are also further avenues that can be taken through the Courts if it is apparent that the ATO has not properly assessed a valid request for remission.
In some instances companies may be charged tens, sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. A properly drafted letter, presuming there is a valid bases for remission, can often save clients having to pay the full amount of the charges or obtain a refund on an amounts already paid. The success of such an application can have substantial and real impacts on the taxpayers bottom line and in many instances can be the difference between a taxpayer continuing to trade into the future or face going bankrupt.
Release
Division 340 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) provides a mechanism for individuals to be released from paying certain tax liabilities if the payment of that liability will cause or is likely to cause serious hardship to a taxpayer. The ATO will usually assess applications for release of a tax liability by applying three tests:
- Identifying the taxpayer’s personal income and expenditure and assessing whether tax liabilities can be paid without suffering serious hardship.
- Assessing the taxpayer’s personal assets and liabilities to determine whether the taxpayer has sufficient means to discharge the outstanding tax liability without suffering serious hardship.
- Consideration of the taxpayer’s lodgement and compliance history, together with what the asset history of the taxpayer is.
In applying the above tests the ATO will have reference to Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2011/17 – Debt Relief, which outlines the manner in which the ATO will assess applications for release.
Our staff specialises in reviewing your circumstances, advising on the prospects of success of a release application with the ATO, drafting applications for release to the ATO and representing you on review in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal if necessary. CCSG Legal Pty Ltd can assist you in contacting the ATO and seeking funding to obtain legal advice with respect to prospects on appeal of a release application.