‘Insolvency Tsunami’ of Small Businesses Could Be Coming as ATO Aggressively Chases Debt

Australian small businesses are becoming insolvent at a rate faster than what was seen during the global financial crisis, as the Australian Tax Office (ATO) aggressively pursues billions of dollars of debt. As a result, call volumes at the Small Business Debt Helpline have surged by 82 percent compared with last year. That compares with a 17 percent rise for the broader-focused National Debt Helpline. The reason is clear: the rate of small business failure has already increased by 34 percent this financial year. In 2012, following the global financial crisis, the number of companies entering insolvency peaked at 10,757, with many experts predicting that the total could end up higher this year....