ATO’s debt collector pays zero corporate tax

A private debt-collection company used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been reported as paying no corporate income tax in Australia, despite being contracted to chase unpaid taxes from others.​

What the headline refers to

• The story concerns Recoveriescorp, a debt-collection agency engaged by the ATO to pursue tax and superannuation debts from individuals and businesses.​

• Tax Justice Network Australia and others have highlighted that the company’s Australian operations feed profits up to a parent entity (Symbos Bidco, controlled by private equity firm Allegro), which has reportedly paid zero corporate tax locally over recent years.​

How the ATO uses debt collectors

• Since early 2024, the ATO has again been referring overdue tax debts to external agencies, with Recoveriescorp the primary collector used in this program.​

• About 150,000 taxpayers were flagged to be referred to Recoveriescorp by June 2024 as part of a broader push to recover billions in outstanding tax and super debts.​

Why a contractor might pay no tax

• A company (or its parent) can show zero corporate tax for several years if it reports accounting losses, uses carried‑forward tax losses, or offsets income with deductions, even while having substantial revenue.​

• Australia’s corporate transparency data show that hundreds of large companies pay no income tax in a given year, which is legal if their taxable income is zero, but politically controversial when they hold government contracts.​

Policy and ethical concerns

• Critics argue that government procurement rules set too low a bar on “tax compliance”, allowing companies with minimal or zero tax contributions to win lucrative public contracts.​

• The episode feeds a wider public perception gap: small taxpayers and SMEs face increasingly firm ATO debt action, while some large corporate groups and contractors appear able to legally minimise or avoid tax.​