South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts44—Duties of agents, trustees etc
(1) If—
(a) a
person has possession, control or management of a business or property of a
taxpayer as an agent or trustee or in any other capacity; and
(b)
obligations under a taxation law (whether as to the payment of tax or
otherwise) remain undischarged by the taxpayer or will arise in relation to
the business or property,
the following provisions apply:
(c) the
person must, as soon as and so far as is practicable, ensure that the
obligations of the taxpayer under a taxation law that remain undischarged are
discharged;
(d) the
person must, as soon as and so far as is practicable, ensure that all further
obligations that arise under a taxation law in relation to the business or
property are discharged while the person continues to have possession, control
or management of the business or property;
(e) for
those purposes the person must set aside (and, so far as necessary, liquidate)
assets of the taxpayer (or the taxpayer's estate) to the value of any tax that
has become or becomes payable and employ those assets in payment of the tax;
(f) if
the person fails, without the Commissioner's written permission, to set aside,
liquidate and employ sufficient assets for that purpose, the Commissioner may
recover from the person as a debt the whole or a part of an amount that is
assessed as being payable as tax in relation to the business or property and
remains unpaid, but the person will not otherwise be personally liable for the
payment of the tax;
(g) the
person is entitled to be indemnified by the taxpayer (or out of the taxpayer's
estate) in respect of payments made or action taken in pursuance of this
section;
(h)
nothing prevents the making of a payment to the person out of the assets, in
priority to tax, of any reasonable remuneration, charges and expenses to which
the person would, apart from this section, be entitled in respect of the
performance of the person's functions.
(2) A person who
contravenes a provision of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.