By Hannah Hammoud and Michael Bachelard
Fast-food chain boss Hash Tayeh has resigned as chief executive of Burgertory, months after police launched an investigation into an alleged bomb threat made to one of his restaurants and amid a fight with the Tax Office.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday night, Tayeh said the decision to step down as CEO of Burgertory and food and beverage company QSR Collective was not made lightly.
Businessman and pro-Palestinian activist Hash Tayeh at a protest in Melbourne last year.Credit: AAP
“The reality is, I’ve been subjected to targeted attacks, politically motivated smears, and ongoing harassment, not because of any wrongdoing, but because I’ve dared to speak out against injustice,” Tayeh wrote.
Tayeh made the comments weeks after 12 companies associated with his Burgertory chain stores were placed into liquidation at the request of the Tax Office over allegedly unpaid tax bills.
Tayeh has also been hit with a director penalty notice for $1,056,294.33 in tax debts owed by the companies, according to documents filed in the County Court by the Tax Office.
In a June Instagram post entitled “ATO vs Hash Tayeh the untold story”, Tayeh wrote: “Since 2023, I’ve been hunted. Harassed. Firebombed. Dragged through courts. Falsely accused. And now? They’ve weaponised the ATO against me.”
Speaking to this masthead on Thursday, Tayeh said the stores were now 90 to 95 per cent franchised, and when those franchise agreements were signed, the operators agreed to take on all debts, including tax debts.
Tayeh said he had resigned two years ago as director of 11 of the 12 companies that are facing tax debts.
He said those companies no longer operated stores, and denied the corporate structure had been changed in an attempt to avoid the tax debts.
He also said 2023-2024 had a significant impact on the hospitality industry, with the rise in interest rates and customers feeling the pinch, but said there was “probably a bit of mismanagement” among some of the franchisees in a difficult trading environment in the industry.
“My intention is to pay all the tax debts,” he said.
“Effectively, the buck always stops with me,” he said. “I have to take the responsibility for it. But if you ask if it’s my debt, it’s absolutely not.
“When the franchisees took over, they signed statutory declarations acknowledging the debts and their responsibility to paying the debts – the purchase price reflected the existing debts at the time.”
Tayeh said he was in discussions with his insolvency practitioners to try to sort out the issue. His lawyers were also working through the issues.
In April, police launched an investigation into an alleged threat by a defence contractor to bomb one of Tayeh’s Burgertory outlets.
The threat to “park a couple of b0mb$” outside the hamburger restaurant in Tullamarine was allegedly made on LinkedIn and posted under the profile of army veteran-turned-defence industry expert Guy Langford.
In two separate incidents in 2023 and 2024, Tayeh’s home and the now-closed Caulfield Burgertory outlet were firebombed.
Following the incidents, The Age revealed the alleged arsonist accused of firebombing the Burgertory restaurant told covert police officers the attack was linked to the conflict in the Middle East, contradicting authorities’ repeated claims there was no racial, religious or political motive.
Tayeh has been a prominent figure in Melbourne’s pro-Palestine movement, protesting against Israel’s 20-month war on Gaza.
In March, Tayeh became the first person in Australia to be charged by police with using insulting words in public for chanting “all Zionists are terrorists” at a pro-Palestine rally in the CBD last year.
Tayeh said the decision to give up his role as chief executive was made out of “love and responsibility”.
The aftermath of the Burgertory fire in Caulfield.Credit: Simon Schluter
“To shield others from being caught in the crossfire, and to protect the livelihoods of every stakeholder who deserves to thrive without being dragged into a fight that isn’t theirs,” he wrote.
The fast-food chain owner said he would turn his attention to mentoring and consulting entrepreneurs looking to build “powerful purpose-led businesses”.
“And equally, I’ll be giving full attention to fighting the legal battle I’ve been forced into for daring to speak truth in a so-called democratic nation,” he wrote.
“My prosecution is not just unjust, it’s a warning sign for anyone who refuses to stay silent.”
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