Archive for category: Blog

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 started on 1 July 2018 for large employers (20 or more employees).

Extending STP to all employers will help ensure all Australians get their full superannuation entitlements, give greater transparency and help ensure a level playing field for small business. This initiative is also an important step in streamlining business reporting and keeping pace with the digital age.

We understand the move to real-time digital reporting may be a big change for employers, especially small business, so the ATO will adopt a supportive, tailored approach to help them undertake this change.

• We understand that many small businesses and other small employers do not currently use commercial payroll software and they will not be required to purchase such software to report under STP.
• The ATO is working with software providers to develop low and no-cost reporting solutions including simple payroll solutions, portals and mobile apps. We will publish a list of providers on our website at ato.gov.au/stpsolutions.

I want to reassure small business and give my personal guarantee that our approach to extending Single Touch Payroll will be flexible, reasonable and pragmatic. In particular, the ATO understands there will be circumstances where more time is needed to implement STP or lodge reports.

• We will offer micro employers (1 to 4 employees) help to transition to STP and a number of alternative options – such as allowing those who rely on a registered tax or BAS agent to report quarterly for the first two years, rather than each time payroll is run.
• Small employers can start reporting any time from the 1 July start date to 30 September 2019. We will grant deferrals to any small employer who requests additional time to start STP reporting.
• There will be no penalties for mistakes, missed or late reports for the first year.
• We will provide exemptions from STP reporting for employers experiencing hardship, or in areas with intermittent or no internet connection.

Pleasingly, many small employers have already taken up STP reporting and they have provided positive feedback that STP makes payroll reporting easier.

The best thing to do is contact us if you have any questions or concerns about STP or any other tax matters, on 13 28 61 or at ato.gov.au/stp.

Chris Jordan

Commissioner of Taxation

Source: https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Articles/Transition-to-Single-Touch-Payroll-for-small-employers/

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, enabling tax-effective “income splitting” strategies to direct income to those on lower marginal tax rates. While this offers considerable planning flexibility, there are some concerns about the taxation advantages obtained through the use of these trusts, and certain corners of the community are agitating for reform.

A recently released report authored by RMIT University and commissioned by the ATO, Current issues with trusts and the tax system, highlights the extent of trust use in Australia. According to the report, the number of trusts in Australia increased by almost 700% between 1990 and 2014. Notably, around 33% of all Australian trusts are discretionary trusts engaged in trading (business) activities, which the report says is unique compared with most other countries. Another 40% are discretionary trusts used for holding investments.

The report identifies three key risk areas posed by trusts that may adversely affect tax revenues and undermine community confidence in the tax system:

• A fundamental design issue in our trust tax laws where the calculation of tax liabilities relies on concepts that can sometimes be manipulated by the trustees simply by exercising certain powers in the trust deed, giving those trustees the legal ability to influence the tax outcome.
• Related to the above point, mismatches between the economic benefits actually received by beneficiaries and the tax outcomes. This does not accord with the general principle that tax outcomes should follow economic benefits.
• Administrative challenges for authorities in identifying trusts and tracing trust income.

The report also focuses on risks associated with “complex distributions”, which may involve arrangements such as multiple trust structures (or “chains” of trusts) that make it difficult to identify ultimate beneficiaries, and questionable distributions to entities such as low-taxed or tax-preferred entities where someone other than that beneficiary receives the actual benefit of the distribution.

Is change on the horizon?

There has been talk for a number of years about the need to reform trust taxation, and change may finally be afoot. The Labor party announced in mid-2017 that, if elected, it would introduce a standard 30% minimum tax rate on all discretionary trust distributions to adult beneficiaries in a bid to curb “aggressive tax minimisation” strategies. Where a higher tax rate would apply under the normal marginal tax scales, the higher rate would apply. This reform would only apply to discretionary trusts (not “fixed” trusts) and there would be specific exclusions for certain types of trusts such as farm trusts, charitable trusts and testamentary (deceased estate) trusts.

Although the full technical detail of this proposal is not yet known, the introduction of a minimum 30% rate on distributions clearly presents a crack-down on the income-splitting strategies that are so popular today.

Do you operate a discretionary trust?

As we approach a federal election, it will be crucial to stay abreast of any further policy announcements on trusts, including any transitional arrangements that might apply should Labor win government and implement its reforms. In that event, we can assist businesses and investors who operate in discretionary trusts to consider their structuring options, taking into account the full detail of the new laws, the beneficiaries’ needs for asset protection and succession planning, and the tax implications of transferring to any new structure. Contact our office at any time to discuss tax planning for your structures.

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 a deduction); and
• concessional contributions above mandatory employer superannuation guarantee contributions (e.g. personal contributions for which the member claims a deduction or extra salary-sacrificed employer contributions).

The work test requires that the person is “gainfully employed” for at least 40 hours in any 30-day consecutive period during the financial year in which the contributions are made. A person is “gainfully employed” if they are employed or self‑employed for gain or reward in any business, trade, profession, vocation, calling, occupation or employment.

To assist these members with their superannuation planning, the government has recently created a new 12-month exemption from the work test for recent retirees aged between 65 and 74 years with a total superannuation balance below $300,000. This measure will be available from 1 July 2019. For qualifying individuals, the exemption applies for 12 months following the end of the financial year in which the individual last met the work test, giving these retirees an extra year in which to boost their superannuation savings.

To assist these members with their superannuation planning, the government has recently created a new 12-month exemption from the work test for recent retirees aged between 65 and 74 years with a total superannuation balance below $300,000.

Some important points to consider include:

• The $300,000 balance threshold is tested on 30 June of the previous financial year.
• The exemption is only available for one 12-month period in an individual’s lifetime. If a member utilises the exemption and later returns to work, they cannot utilise the exemption a second time when they subsequently retire again. However, if they did not rely on the exemption to make any contributions the first time, they stopped working, they are entitled to utilise the exemption the next time they retire.
• The exemption is not available to members aged 75 and over. These members are subject to separate (and much more restrictive) rules about making contributions.

So, how much can a member contribute during the 12-month grace period? Fortunately, the individual may make contributions up to the usual concessional and non-concessional contributions caps for the particular year ($25,000 and $100,000 respectively). Also, members who turn 65 during the year in which they utilise the work test exemption may benefit from accessing “bring forward” arrangements (still in draft form) to make non-concessional contributions of up to three times the usual annual cap (currently $300,000, i.e. three times the $100,000 cap).

Want to optimise your retirement planning?

The contributions rules are complex, but with the right planning and advice you can maximise your contributions into superannuation at the right time. You should also consider other measures that may be available to you, such as “downsizer” contributions (certain contributions of proceeds from the sale of your home) and “catch-up” concessional contributions (accessing unused concessional cap space from prior years).

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 few months.

New reporting standard

On 1 July 2018, Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting became mandatory for employers with 20 or more employees. STP is a real-time electronic reporting system that requires employers to submit payroll information such as salaries, wages, allowances, PAYG withholding and superannuation contributions to the ATO directly through their payroll software (or third-party service provider) at the time they pay their employees.

Importantly for small businesses, the government wants to extend STP reporting to all employers from 1 July 2019. It says that mandatory STP reporting for all businesses, regardless of their size, will improve the ATO’s ability to monitor compliance and take action when required.

Although the legislation to implement this measure is still before Parliament, we should assume the changes will proceed and plan early. Businesses should ask their current payroll solution provider what software updates (or new products) are required in order to become STP-compliant.

Small businesses without any current payroll software should not panic. The ATO says that over 30 software providers propose to release a low-cost STP solution (costing less than $10 per month) from early 2019, which may include simple solutions such as mobile apps or portals.

Amnesty for underpayments

The government is proposing a 12-month “amnesty” to allow employers to voluntarily disclose and correct any historical underpayments of SG contributions for any period up to 31 March 2018 without incurring penalties or the usual administration fee ($20 per employee per quarter). This is provided the ATO has not already commenced (or given notice of) a compliance audit of that employer. Additionally, employers will be entitled to claim deductions for the catch-up payments they make under the amnesty. (Under the usual rules, such payments are not deductible.) Employers will, however, still need to pay the usual interest charges.

While these are welcome incentives for employers to make a disclosure, there is one problem: legislation to enable the amnesty is still before Parliament, with the amnesty slated to apply from 24 May 2018 to 23 May 2019. There is no guarantee the legislation will pass, so what does this mean for employers wishing to take advantage of the amnesty?

If an employer discloses now and the amnesty legislation is not passed, the ATO will be required to administer the usual laws. This means catch-up payments will be non-deductible and penalties and administration fees will apply. However, the ATO may view the employer’s prompt disclosure favourably when deciding whether to use its discretion to reduce the penalties.

On the other hand, taking a “wait and see” approach carries considerable risks. The ATO says “employers who do not disclose their SG shortfalls during the amnesty period may face harsher penalties if they are audited in the future”. There is also a risk the ATO could commence an audit while the employer waits, particularly if an employee contacts the ATO about outstanding SG contributions owed to them. This would disqualify the employer from the amnesty (if it became law).

Ensure your business is SG-compliant

Now is an important time for businesses to get their SG affairs in order. Talk to us today to ensure your small business is ready for STP reporting. For any employer with outstanding underpayments of SG contributions, we can assist with the careful process of making a voluntary disclosure to the ATO.

 

The government has increased the threshold for the instant asset write-off to $25,000 as it looks to entice the small business sector ahead of a federal election.

Announced yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to increase the small business instant asset write-off to $25,000 from $20,000.

The write-off will be available for small business with an annual turnover of less than $10 million and will apply until 30 June 2020.

The government will be seeking to legislate the change when Parliament resumes on 12 February.

This measure is estimated to have a cost to revenue of $750 million over the forward estimates period, with an estimated 3 million small businesses eligible to access the write-off.

“The $25,000 instant asset write-off will improve cash flow by bringing forward tax deductions, providing a boost to small business activity and encouraging more small businesses to reinvest in their operations and replace or upgrade their assets,” Mr Morrison’s office told Accountants Daily.

The government’s decision to raise the threshold comes after Labor announced that it would introduce the Australian Investment Guarantee, a permanent feature which will allow businesses to immediately deduct 20 per cent of any new eligible asset worth more than $20,000.

Source: Article by Jotham Liam – www.accountantsdaily.com.au