The Australian Financial Review reports that ATO deputy commissioner Stephanie Martin said yesterday that the collapse of a scheme manager was not "of itself a reason that would lead to the disallowance of deductions that were properly allowable in previous years".

Over the past decade, investors have ploughed $10 billion into managed agribusiness schemes because, unlike other investments, they offered an immediate tax deduction on the investment. These tax breaks were guaranteed by ATO product rulings.

The recent collapse of the two biggest managers, Timbercorp and Great Southern, means tax deductions might be the only return that the 60,000 people who sunk $2.9 billion into a variety of projects managed by the two companies might ever see.