Have you received a director penalty notice?
This is a standard letter for the ATO but it carries some serious implications for you. You need to act quickly.
First, the context. The ATO is pursuing you because a company that you are or were the director of owes some money. The ATO probably issued the same letters to the other directors too. Most people will not respond. The ATO counts on this and will file a statement of claim against you. If you don’t respond, it will obtain default judgement. If you don’t respond, it will take the money from you someway, somehow.
Second, the law is on the side of the ATO. It is not in your favour. It is not intended to be. You need to know this if you want to have any chance of winning.
Now the action: Defend yourself and do so immediately. There are limited defences available. Use them. Find other grounds to defend yourself. There are plenty, and some will be customised to your situation.
We have a director penalty notice defence template letter if you would find it useful. It comes with 15 minutes of free advice on how to use it. There are actually two letters – depending on your personal style. One is assertive and the other is more conciliatory in tone.
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