Blog
Personal income tax cuts passed
Parliament has passed the Government's Personal Income Tax plan, meaning that the first stage of the proposed income tax cuts will start to take effect from 1 July 2018. According to the Prime Minister, taxes "will now be lower, fairer and simpler". The Government's plan has three steps: ..
ATO scrutinising car claims this tax time
The ATO has announced that it will be closely examining claims for work-related car expenses this tax time as part of a broader focus on work related expenses. Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said: “We are particularly concerned about taxpayers claiming for things they are not enti ..
New FBT rates for the 2018/19 FBT year
The ATO has released Taxation Determinations setting out the following rates for the FBT year commencing on 1 April 2018. FBT: Benchmark interest rate The benchmark interest rate for the 2018/19 FBT year is 5.20% p.a., which is used to calculate the taxable value of: - A loan fringe be ..
Get ready for Single Touch Payroll
Single Touch Payroll (or 'STP') is mandatory for 'substantial employers' (being those with 20 or more employees) from 1 July 2018. All employers are required to count the number of employees on their payroll on 1 April 2018 to find out if they are a substantial employer (note that this ca ..
No need to actually 'downsize' for ‘downsizer contributions’
From 1 July 2018 , individuals aged 65 or over may use the proceeds from the sale of an eligible dwelling that was their main residence to make superannuation contributions (referred to as ‘downsizer contributions’), up to a maximum of $300,000 per person (i.e., up to $600,000 per couple), witho ..
Super guarantee payable on ‘public holidays’ and ‘additional hours’
The Federal Court has held that superannuation guarantee contributions were payable with respect to the ‘additional hours’ and ‘public holidays’ component of annualised salaries paid by BlueScope Steel, on the basis that these particular components formed part of ordinary time earnings (‘OTE’). ..
Taskforce to help digitise small business
The Government has established a Small Business Digital Taskforce, to be headed by entrepreneur Mark Bouris AM, to ensure more Australian small businesses can thrive in an increasingly digital economy. Mark Bouris said: “When a business begins to digitise and use digital tools, it opens up ..
ATO warning regarding small business record-keeping
According to the ATO, of all of the things that can cause small businesses to fold, "high on that list is poor record keeping". More than half of the businesses they visited in their Protecting honest business campaign needed to improve their record keeping. Issues they found include busines ..
Truck drivers' reasonable amounts for travel updated
Following detailed consultation with the transport industry, the ATO has amended their determination for travel expenses for truck drivers to provide separate reasonable travel allowance expense amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner for employee truck drivers for the 2017/2018 income year. ..
ATO's occupation-specific guides
The ATO has developed occupation-specific guides to help taxpayers understand what they can and can’t claim as work-related expenses, including: - C ar expenses - Home office expenses - Clothing expenses - S elf-education or professional development expenses. The guides are available f ..
Recent Posts
- ATO watching for foreign income this Tax Time
- "Outrageous" deductions rejected
- ATO guidance regarding incorrect ENCC determinations
- The ATO hits the road
- Motor vehicle registries data matching program protocol
- ATO guidance regarding 'downsizer contributions'
- ATO Updates
- Company loans to shareholders under review
- Scammers impersonating tax agents
- Expansion of the TPRS