In case you might have forgotten, following an announcement in the 2021 Federal Budget, organisations that used to have the option of self-assessing their income tax exemption status will soon be required to submit an annual self-review report (a return) to the ATO. Impacted organisations will include non-charitable entities – those not endorsed by the […]
The ATO has flagged a return to firmer debt collection actions after seeing a trend of profitable businesses that have the capacity to pay their tax debts but are actively choosing not to do so. It warns business taxpayers not to treat tax liabilities like a free loan, and reiterates that businesses are only temporary […]
Individuals participating in the sharing economy should be aware that transactions for supplying taxi travel/ride sourcing and short-term accommodation are now required to be reported under the sharing economy reporting regime (SERR). Generally, all operators of electronic distribution platforms (EDPs) must report transactions made through their platform. While the reporting requirements ostensibly apply to the […]
As a part of the government’s strategy to get more people back into work to solve skills shortages being experienced by many industries, a permanent enhancement to the pensioner work bonus has been announced, along with a doubling of the employment income nil rate period to reduce barriers for income support recipients to take up […]
The ATO has ramped up compliance activity in the self managed super fund (SMSF) space in response to an increasing number of funds that have been identified as not complying with superannuation obligations. For the 2023 year, the ATO says it has issued double the amount of tax and penalties when compared with the 2022 […]
A recent Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) report has recommended improvements to the small business litigation funding program, aimed at delivering better access to justice and fairness for small businesses. The original intention of the funding program was to mitigate the disadvantage that small business taxpayers face against the ATO, which is a […]
The ATO has advised that new and ongoing subscription costs can also qualify as eligible expenditure for the purposes of the digital adoption boost. This was not specified in the ATO’s original release on the measure. The additional 20% tax deduction applies to eligible expenditure incurred by small and medium business entities between 7:30 pm […]
With the cost of living crisis and increase in interest rates hitting Australian households, there is growing evidence that many are falling into financial stress. It is with this background that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued an open letter to various banks, credit institutions, and lenders, calling on them to ensure […]
The Federal Government has released plans to introduce a small business energy incentive to help small and medium businesses electrify and save on their energy bills. The proposal was in the consultation stage until late July, but once implemented it may see businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million gain access to […]
Small businesses may be able to get a bonus 20% tax deduction for any business expenses and depreciating assets used to improve their digital operations. This includes digital enabling items such as computer software and hardware, digital media and marketing, e-commerce related goods or services, and systems or monitoring services related to cyber security. The […]
This tax time, the ATO is cracking down on taxpayers not lodging their taxable payments annual report (TPAR) on time. It has recently issued more than 16,000 penalties for businesses who failed to lodge their TPARs for previous years despite receiving multiple reminders. The average penalty for non-lodgment was approximately $1,110. TIP: The deadline to […]
Movement may be afoot on the complex issue of individual tax residency in Australia. In 2019, the Board of Taxation released a report which contained a proposed model for modernising individual residency. The new framework was designed to simplify the tax system and reduce compliance costs for individuals and employers. The model proposed uses a […]
The ATO has given the green light for taxpayers with uncomplicated financial affairs to lodge their returns. It says that the information it collects from employers, banks, private health insurers, share registries and other institutions has now been pre-filled and is ready to go on either myTax (accessed through myGov) if you’re lodging your own […]
The ATO has warned taxpayers against entering into a scheme through their self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) which claims to allow individuals to purchase property using money from their super. This sort of scheme typically involves the rollover of a member’s super benefits from an existing fund into a new or existing SMSF, which then […]
The ATO has recently issued new GST guidance specifically relevant to crypto assets. For GST purposes, the ATO considers that digital currency is a crypto asset utilising cryptography and distributed ledger technology to make secure transactions. The ATO has excluded loyalty points, in-game tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, and initial coin offerings (ICOs) (if they […]