News

The ATO is increasing attention, scrutiny and education on work-related expenses (WREs) this tax time. Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said: “We have seen claims for clothing and laundry expenses increase around 20% over the last five years. While this increase isn’t a sign that all of these taxpayers are doing the wrong thing, it is...

Making GST Reporting Easier To simplify reporting, the ATO are reducing the amount of GST information needed on your Business Activity Statement (BAS). From 1 July 2017, the ATO will automatically transition your GST reporting method to Simpler BAS if your GST turnover is less than $10 million. This means you will only need to...

Casual Employees May Be Entitled To Super Employing casual workers provides businesses with an increased level of flexibility. However, it’s important to remember that casual employees may be entitled to super. Here’s the basics: – You may need to pay super guarantee (SG) regardless of whether your employee is full-time, part-time or casual. – If...

Income Tax Changes – Small Businesses Tax Rates The tax rate for small business entity companies has been reduced to 27.5% for the 2017 financial year, down from 28.5% in the 2016 year. To be eligible for this rate, you need to be considered a “small business entity.” To meet this definition, you must: ▪...

General Year End Tax Planning Strategies Business Income and Expenses Subject to cash flow requirements, consider deferring income until after 30 June, especially if you expect lower income for 2017/18 compared to 2016/17. Most businesses are taxed on income when it is invoiced. Some small businesses may be taxed only when income is received. Income...

No major new super measures, but 1 July reforms loom large The Government did not announce any new major superannuation measures in the Budget. This will be a welcome relief for the super industry, which already has enough on its plate with major reforms set to start on 1 July 2017. As is the case with any large-scale...

Overview The 2017–2018 Budget contained a number of measures designed to improve Australians’ access to secure and affordable housing across the housing spectrum. These include: strengthening the CGT rules to reduce the risk that foreign investors avoid paying CGT in Australia; introducing a 50% cap on pre-approved foreign ownership in new developments; applying an annual...

No change to personal tax rates; Budget deficit levy to end The 2017–2018 Federal Budget contained no changes to the personal income tax rates and thresholds. This means that the 2% budget deficit levy on incomes over $180,000 will not be extended beyond its initial three years, and will cease on 30 June 2017. The...

An employee construction project manager/supervisor was denied deductions for overtime meal expenses, as he was not paid an overtime meal allowance under an industrial agreement (award). The taxpayer often worked at nights and on weekends during the relevant income years, and so additional amounts were negotiated and ‘rolled into’ his salary to cover the fact...

The ATO is currently reviewing arrangements where individuals (at, or approaching, retirement age) purport to divert their personal services income to an SMSF, so that the income is taxed concessionally (or exempt from tax) in the fund, rather than being subject to tax at the individual’s marginal tax rate. These arrangements normally involve the individual’s...