Further to our ‘Worrells Warning – for Directors of Companies with PAYG Debt’, link: Worrells Notification, we can confirm that the legislation has now passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was passed by the Senate on 27 June.

The legislation is now awaiting Royal Assent to become law.

Under the new legislation, a director will no longer be able to avoid personal liability if their company has a PAYG debt when the following applies:

• The debt is older than three (3) months; and
• The debt was not reported to the ATO within three (3) months of the lodgement date.

Please be aware that the amendments will also:

• Impose a liability, by way of a penalty, on directors for a company’s unpaid superannuation liability; and
• Cause directors and associates (the definition of which is very broad) of directors to be liable for a new personal income tax liability for a company’s unpaid PAYG withholding liability subject to certain limits.

If you wish further information on the new provisions, please contact us.