Super guarantee amnesty now closed

Posted on

The ATO has reminded employers that the superannuation guarantee (SG) amnesty closed on 7 September 2020. The amnesty enabled employers to self-correct historical SG underpayments, without incurring the normal penalties, for SG shortfalls from 1 July 1992 until 31 March 2018. Any amnesty applications received by the ATO after 11:59pm on 7 September will not qualify for […]

Read More

Super choice of fund and enterprise agreements

Posted on

With recent changes to Australia’s superannuation law, the “choice of super fund” regime now extends to employees covered by enterprise agreements and workplace determinations made from 1 January 2021. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said this will allow another 800,000 people to make choices about where their super guarantee contributions are invested, representing around 40% […]

Read More

ASIC grants hardship relief for withdrawals from frozen funds

Posted on

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced new relief measures for operators of managed funds to facilitate withdrawals by members who are facing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conditional relief will apply to all responsible entities (REs) of registered managed investment schemes (MIS) that have become “frozen funds”. At times of […]

Read More

Extended COVID-19 support and relief measures

Posted on

JobKeeper The end date of the JobKeeper scheme has now been extended from 27 September 2020 to 28 March 2021, as announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 21 July 2020. The relevant legislation also amends tax secrecy provisions in relation to JobKeeper and extends certain provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 implemented in […]

Read More

ATO updates on new JobKeeper arrangements

Posted on

The ATO has also released an array of new and updated information sheets addressing the changes to JobKeeper. Here is a summary of some main points to consider. Actual decline in turnover test The ATO states that the actual decline in turnover test can be satisfied in two ways, using: the basic test; or the […]

Read More

COVID-19 and FBT: updated ATO advice

Posted on

The ATO has updated its COVID-19 and fringe benefits tax (FBT) advice, providing a useful outline of some issues that may arise due to an employer’s response to COVID-19. Tip: Although the following summary deals with FBT specifically, it is worth thinking through the related income tax consequences. Contact us to find out more. Working […]

Read More

FB2020 Superannuation

Posted on

Super reforms: accounts to be stapled to members; best financial interests duty; other The Government will provide $159.6 million to implement reforms to superannuation to improve outcomes for super fund members. The Your Future, Your Super package, which will seek to reduce the number of duplicate accounts held by employees as a result of changes in […]

Read More

FB2020 Social Security

Posted on

$250 cash payments for income support recipients The Government will pay two $250 economic support payments for eligible income support recipients and concession card holders. The payments will be made from November 2020 and early 2021 to eligible income support recipients and concession card holders, including: Age Pension; Disability Support Pension; Carer Payment; Family Tax Benefit, including […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – Wage subsidy for new apprentices

Posted on

Wage subsidy for new apprentices The Government will provide a capped 50% wage subsidy to businesses who take on a new Australian apprentice from 5 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. It will be available to employers of any size or industry, Australia-wide, regardless of geographic location or occupation. There are two important caps: it is limited to 100,000 […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – Supporting small business and responsible lending

Posted on

Supporting small business and responsible lending The Budget confirmed that the Government will implement reforms to support consumers and businesses affected by COVID-19 to facilitate Australia’s economic recovery. The reforms are designed to reduce regulatory burden to ensure a timely flow of credit and resolution for distressed business. These include: introducing a new process to […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – JobMaker Hiring Credit

Posted on

JobMaker Hiring Credit The Budget announced that the Government will provide $4 billion over three years from 2020–2021 to accelerate employment growth by supporting organisations to take on additional employees through a hiring credit. The JobMaker Hiring Credit will be available to eligible employers over 12 months from 7 October 2020 for each additional new job they […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – State COVID-19 business support grants

Posted on

State COVID-19 business support grants: NANE income The Federal Government announced that the Victorian government’s business support grants for small and medium business will be non-assessable, non-exempt (NANE) income for tax purposes. The Victorian Government announced the grants on 13 September. The Federal Government will extend this arrangement to all states and territories on an […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – R&D Tax Incentive changes

Posted on

R&D Tax Incentive changes The Government has announced a number of changes to the R&D tax offset measures contained in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Research and Development Tax Incentive) Bill 2019 and deferred the start date of those measures to income years starting on or after 1 July 2021. In broad terms, the Bill proposes: increasing the […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – FBT record-keeping

Posted on

FBT record-keeping: reducing compliance burden To reduce the FBT compliance burden, the Government will provide the ATO with the power to allow employers to rely on existing corporate records, rather than employee declarations and other prescribed records, to finalise their FBT returns. Currently, the FBT legislation prescribes the form that certain records must take and […]

Read More

FB2020 Business Tax – FBT exemption for retraining redeployed employees

Posted on

FBT exemption for retraining redeployed employees The Budget confirmed the Government’s announcement on 2 October 2020 that it will provide an FBT exemption for employer-provided retraining and reskilling benefits provided to redundant, or soon to be redundant, employees where the benefits are not related to their current employment. Currently, FBT is payable if an employer provides training […]

Read More