Bushfire relief from ATO obligations The ATO has provided relief from lodgement compliance and payment obligations for those impacted by the bushfires. An automatic two month deferral for activity statements lodgements and payments due has been provided to those in affected postcodes. Taxpayers can also call the ATO directly to request further assistance, such [...]
Legislation in limbo A budget, an election and the legislation that hasn’t made it through. The February 2019 Parliamentary sitting days were the last opportunity before the Federal Budget for the Government to introduce or push through new legislation. Next month, on 2 April, Parliament reconvenes for the Federal Budget and it’s likely that an [...]
Tax warning on overseas income Do you earn income overseas? A recent case highlights why you might pay more tax than you thought on foreign income. If you are an Australian resident and earn income from overseas, such as income from investments, sale of assets such as property, distributions from foreign trusts, etc., you will [...]
Tax on shares: ATO extends data matching program The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is utilising data provided by the Australian Investments and Security Commission (ASIC) to data match share trades. The ATO is accessing more than 500 million records detailing price, quantity and time of individual trades dating back to 2014. The information complements information [...]
No tax deductions if you don’t meet your tax obligations New laws passed by parliament last month directly target the behaviour of taxpayers that don’t meet their obligations. Tax deductions denied If taxpayers do not meet their PAYG withholding tax obligations, from 1 July 2019 they will not be able to claim a tax deduction [...]
Accelerated tax rate reduction for small business Small business is still a vote winner with the Government and Opposition teaming up to accelerate tax cuts for the sector by 5 years impacting on an estimated 3.3 million businesses. Parliament recently passed legislation to accelerate the corporate tax rate reduction for corporate tax entities that are [...]
Reminder on cents per km car expenses rate The cents per kilometre car expense rate increased from 66 cents to 68 cents per kilometre from 1 July 2018. Employers who use the cents per kilometre rate to pay car allowances for employees should ensure that car allowance rates are up to date. If more than [...]
Working from home: What deductions can you claim? For a while now, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been concerned about tax deductions individuals have been claiming for a whole host of expenses. The latest on their ‘hit list’ are home office expenses. We guide you through what you can and can’t claim if you [...]
Last minute changes to company tax and franking rate passed by Parliament Legislation passed by Parliament late last month introduces a new test that will restrict some companies from accessing the lower company tax rate from the 2017-18 financial year. Across a 3 year period, the company tax and franking rate changed, then the definition [...]
Clothing deductions hung out to dry The Australian Taxation Office is closely examining work-related clothing and laundry expense claims of taxpayers submitting their 2017-18 tax returns. The ATO says that clothing claims are up nearly 20% over the last five years with people either making mistakes or deliberately over-claiming. Common mistakes include people claiming ineligible [...]
