Directors are responsible for ensuring their company complies with its tax and super obligations.
The ATO has reminded current and former directors that:
🟡 if the company does not meet its PAYG withholding, GST or SGC obligations, the ATO may recover these amounts from the director personally; and
🟡 incoming directors need to undertake due diligence and check any unpaid or unreported PAYG withholding, goods and services tax (GST) or SGC liabilities or risk becoming personally liable for a penalty equal to these amounts - subject to a 30 day period to attend to them or to appoint an administrator or to wind up the company.
**Even if you become a new director and you resign within the 30 day period:
🔹 You will still be liable for the unpaid PAYG withholding, net GST or SGC liabilities of the company that were due before your appointment;
🔹 For PAYG withholding and net GST, you will also be liable for any unpaid liabilities for reporting periods that started while you were a director, except if you resigned before the first withholding event in that period;
🔹 For SGC, you will also be liable for any unpaid liabilities for reporting periods that started while you were a director, except if you resigned before the date the charge became payable.