Late last year, new legislation to deny an income tax deduction for certain payments if the associated withholding obligations have not been complied with were passed. Payments that are impacted includes salary, wages, commissions, bonuses or allowances to an employee; director’s fees; payments under a labour hire arrangement; payments to a religious practitioner; and payments for a […]
The ATO has provided a tailored approach to comply with STP for small employers. Parliament has now passed legislation to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to include all small employers (those with fewer than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. STP is pay day reporting by employers to the ATO as it happens, this reporting having […]
In an effort to reduce pressure on housing affordability, the government wants to encourage older Australians to sell their home in order to improve housing stock. To achieve this, the government has introduced a new opportunity for older Australians to contribute some of the proceeds from the sale of their home into superannuation. Under the new […]
Single Touch Payroll reporting for small businesses: get ready! Parliament has now passed legislation – the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No 4) Bill 2018 – to bring in Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting for all small employers (that is, employers with fewer than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. STP is a payday reporting […]
Single Touch Payroll reporting for small businesses: get ready! Legislation has recently passed to bring in Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting for all small employers (with fewer than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. STP is a payday reporting arrangement where employers need to send tax and superannuation information to the ATO from their payroll or accounting […]
A key feature of discretionary trusts is the ability to distribute income on a “discretionary” basis, which means no beneficiary has a particular entitlement to any income or capital assets in the trust and the trustees can make distributions at their discretion. Importantly, distributions are generally taxed at the individual marginal tax rate of the beneficiaries, […]
IN BRIEF ATO Second Commissioner Andrew Mills says the ATO has listened to criticisms and is promoting a “culture of fairness” in how it deals with taxpayers, especially SMEs. The recently implemented Independent Review for Small Business allows small business owners who have been audited by the ATO to ask for a review of the […]
Many superannuation members are surprised – and sometimes frustrated – to learn that Australia’s superannuation system places tight restrictions on who can make contributions after age 65. Generally, individuals aged between 65 and 74 years must satisfy a “work test” in order to make: non-concessional contributions (i.e. personal contributions for which the member does not claim […]
Division 7A is a long-standing tax integrity measure that treats certain payments by private companies to shareholders or their associates as unfranked “dividends” for tax purposes. Those deemed dividends are then assessable income of the recipient and taxed at the recipient’s marginal tax rate. Current laws include an important exception to these rules: a payment is […]
The government is getting tough on employers who fail to make compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions. A host of measures are being implemented, ranging from improved reporting systems through to proposed employer penalties of up to 12 months’ imprisonment. Here, we examine two particular initiatives that will require some businesses to take action in the next […]