Australian Mercantile Collections

Market staggered by size of NWQ debt

Rival fund managers are perplexed by the scale of the debt left by NWQ Capital Management, expressing surprise at the almost $20 million owed, including to blue-chip Perth business figures. A who’s who of Perth business names has been caught up in the collapse of Jonathan Horton’s West Perth fund manager, which was placed in […]

ATO debt pushing more businesses ‘over the edge’

More Aussie businesses are being driven to the brink of collapse, as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tightens the screws on outstanding debts. And there’s more pain to come. More than 10,000 companies are expected to enter external administration by the end of the current financial year, ASIC predicts. That would mark a level not […]

Budget ‘fails to charm small business’, says IPA

Institute of Public Accountants chief executive Andrew Conway said while the latest Federal Budget offered some small relief measures for small business it failed to recognise the magnitude of struggles currently facing the small business sector. Conway noted that the government’s budget centrepiece, Future Made in Australia, did not appear to have any focus on […]

Small business mental health focus with debt helpline, NewAccess

Australian small businesses will be able to continue to access government-funded financial counselling and mental health support, with the 2024-25 federal budget providing funding for both.  In a budget measure labelled ‘Supporting Small Business’, the federal government said it will provide $10.8 million over two years, from 2024-25, to extend the Small Business Debt Helpline […]

Small businesses turn to rescue plans as ATO gets tough

Businesses being chased by the ATO for tax debt are increasingly turning to rescue programs to save their companies from financial ruin, latest data shows. Alares Monthly Credit Risk Insights author Patrick Schweizer said the ATO was working through a record amount of outstanding tax debt of more than $50bn and this was driving small […]

SMEs recoil at tax debts collections acceleration

More than half of all small and medium businesses are feeling the heat from the renewed campaign by the Australian Taxation Office to show tough love towards outstanding business tax debts. Research by East and Partners that will soon be published by business financier ScotPac found that 51% of SMEs want relief from ATO collection […]

Here’s Why Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

David Iben put it well when he said, ‘Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital.’ It’s only natural to consider a company’s balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We can see […]