The Australian Taxation Office has in recent days sharply increased the number of winding-up applications filed in Australian courts.

This is in line with recent comments from the ATO Deputy Commissioner Chris Jordan who signaled the ATO would be becoming more assertive in bringing recovery action for outstanding tax debts.

In addition to the publicly available winding-up records, it is clear that the issue of director penalty notices and garnishee notices from the ATO are also on the rise.

With over $12 billion in tax owed by small to medium enterprises, the ATO’s enforcement arm will have no fear of running out of targets for recovery actions in the near future.