Tax Troubles

[Nereus]

Up

0

::

Hello everybody…
thank you in advance for reading my thread, I hope I don’t babble too much.

I came to Australia on a working holiday visa from England in 2002, I am a chef and I applied for skilled migration in 2003 and was approved offshore and moved here in 2005.

In 2005 I set up a sole trader registered business and I registered for GST (without fully understanding the meanings).
I traded a few years, contracting on an hourly rate not really getting anywhere but I got by.. bad timing with the economic situation possibly.

I never filed any BAS returns or book keeping (my own personal failures).
My business didn’t get very far and I thought I’d closed down my ABN through an online portal, but I found out that my ABN is still registered. I owe loads of unpaid BAS fines. I’ve been worried for years now and I need help
Through the years I haven’t lodged any TFN personal tax claims even though I’d been paying Tax because I had fears about the 3 years of owed ABN history to the ATO.

Since I came Australia I have been living in rented accommodation and moving around more than I wanted to. I was unaware of most of these fines and I need to get help urgently. I feel I may have more than a few thousand dollars in personal tax but it could be taken due to unpaid fines and GST? I now live in the Sunshine Coast, QLD

So I guess I need some questions….

I know I will need an accountant, however I have a fear of going to the ‘wrong kind’ of accountant, (sorry!) not getting the best outcome for my situation. Is there any specialised accountant I need?

Has anyone got experience of this kind of situation by chance? If so what’s my likely outcome?

I thank you all for taking the time to read this, any help will be very greatly appreciated.

Nereus

[NickKaro]

Up

0

::

Hi Nereus

I have assisted a number of clients in similar situations. I would recommend meeting with an accountant/tax lawyer who has experience in actually negotiating with the ATO. Whilst I am based in Melbourne, I am happy to assist remotely, my firm’s contact details are in my signature below.

Regards
Nick

[Anonymous]

Up

0

::

Hi Nereus, and welcome,

That sounds really stressful, and I’m sure it will be a huge relief to get it sorted out.

My fingers are crossed that Nick or one of our other resident experts can help you reach a good outcome.

Best of luck, and thank you for joining us,

Jayne

[MyGreatIdea]

Up

0

::

Call the ATO. They’re not out to “get” people, they are extremely helpful and would rather get things sorted out.

There are payment plans available and if you approach them, there’s a good chance you could get the fines waived, or at least reduced.

Just be honest when you speak to them, and tell them how scared you were, why you put it off.

Honestly, the relief you will feel after making that call will be huge!!

Wendy

[Author]

Posts