Western Australian Current Acts

TAXATION ADMINISTRATION ACT 2003 - SECT 65

65 .         Recovery from garnishee

        (1)         The Commissioner may serve a garnishee notice on a person (the garnishee ) if the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that the garnishee —

            (a)         holds or may receive money for or on account of a taxpayer; or

            (b)         is liable or may become liable to pay money to a taxpayer; or

            (c)         has authority to pay money to a taxpayer.

        (2)         A garnishee notice is a notice —

            (a)         requiring the garnishee to pay money in the garnishee’s possession or control to which the taxpayer is or becomes entitled to the Commissioner up to the amount of a liability for tax stated in the notice; and

            (b)         fixing a time for payment (which cannot be before the time the taxpayer becomes entitled to the money).

        (3)         The Commissioner may serve a garnishee notice even though the taxpayer’s entitlement to the money may be subject to unfulfilled conditions.

        (4)         However, a garnishee notice served on the employer of a taxpayer can require the garnishee to pay to the Commissioner the wages payable by the garnishee to the taxpayer in respect of a period only to the extent of the amount by which the amount of the wages exceeds the amount of average earnings for that period calculated on the basis of statistics published in respect of the period by the government statistician.

        (5)         The Commissioner must serve a copy of the garnishee notice on the taxpayer.

        (6)         If the liability to which a garnishee notice relates is discharged wholly or partly before the time for payment under the notice and the discharge or partial discharge affects the amount to be recovered from the garnishee, the Commissioner must, by notice served on the garnishee and the taxpayer —

            (a)         inform them of that fact; and

            (b)         state whether and, if so, how the garnishee’s obligation under the garnishee notice is affected by the discharge or partial discharge of the liability.

        (7)         A garnishee who does not comply with a garnishee notice commits an offence.

        Penalty: $20 000.

        (8)         A garnishee who is under an obligation to pay money to the taxpayer is taken to have satisfied that obligation to the extent of the payment made under the garnishee notice.