Budget 2018: What’s in it for you It’s May which means it’s Budget time. In the last full Budget before the next Federal election, the Treasurer delivered an election Budget with enough sweeteners for everyone including businesses, income tax relief…
Tax Inspector-General to review ATO’s use of garnishee notices The Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT), Mr Ali Noroozi has announced an investigation into the allegations made during the ABC Four Corners program, aired on 9 April 2018, regarding the ATO’s use of garnishee notices. Garnishee…
The ATO has restated its commitment towards clamping down on people who claim more than they are entitled to around work-related car expenses. Over 3.75 million people made a work-related car expense claim in 2016-17, totalling around $8.8 billion, the…
Travel deductions to and from rental premises no longer allowed If you own residential premises that you rent out, you should be aware that you may no longer be able to claim travel deductions connected with trips you make to…
Good reminder from the ATO to look at the Tax Invoices you receive from your suppliers (& also the ones you issue!). The problem for us is if we receive an incorrect invoice from a supplier (they said they were…
Are you signed up to the new small business super clearing house? The small business superannuation clearing house (SBSCH) is a convenient service that allows a small business to make superannuation contributions for its employees in one single payment….
Tax debts to affect your credit score Tax debts could soon affect the credit scores of businesses, with the government’s introduction of draft legislation to allow ATO to share debt details of businesses to credit rating agencies. The proposal only…
Underpayment of workers: are you liable? The exploitation of vulnerable workers has been getting a lot of press recently, but did you know that it is not just the company or business involved that may be liable to penalties? In…
ATO spotlight on visa holders, sponsors and migration agents The ATO has launched the latest round of their data-matching program to include all visa holders, visa sponsors and migration agents. It will request the records of approximately 20 million individuals…
Bitcoin Part 1 – personal investors Bitcoin seems to be all the rage at the moment, and while we all know vaguely what it is, the tax consequences of investing in bitcoin aren’t as apparent. In our two-part series, we…
Excessive card surcharges banned to all businesses Australia’s consumer law has changed to limit the amounts that businesses can surcharge customers for using payment methods such as credit, debit and prepaid cards. A ban on excessive card surcharges now applies…
Super concessional contributions: beware of going over the limit If you are either an employee or a self-employed person and you top up your super by making deductible contributions, you need to be aware of not breaching the annual $25,000…
Pay your way: tax and the sharing economy The desire to pay less for goods and services coupled with the convenience of being able to conduct such transactions online or via apps, has lead large numbers of people to use…
A share trader who holds share as trading stock at the end of an income year must elect to value each share (as an item of trading stock), at cost, market selling value or replacement value. From a planning perspective,…
There are several personal tax offsets available to individual taxpayers. Tax offsets are subtracted from the tax calculated on taxable income. In contrast, a deduction is subtracted from assessable income in calculating the taxable income on which tax is payable. Example…
The ATO has confirmed that the costs of travelling to have a tax return prepared by a “recognised tax adviser” like Mark Your Tax Accountant are deductible. In particular you can claim a deduction for the cost of managing your…
Grants and business support The Queensland, Australian and local governments offer funding programs, often in the form of grants, and business support services to help new and established businesses grow and succeed. Government grants can help you develop your business…
You have a TFN but didn’t work so I don’t have to lodge a tax return, right? NO! When you have a Tax File Number but you have not worked during the financial year, you have to submit a non-lodgment…
Happy New Financial Year everyone! We wish all of our clients and associates a happy, safe and prosperous 2017/2018 financial year. July is a very busy time of year for tax compliance and here is a summary of the important…
Goods and services tax (GST) reporting on the business activity statement (BAS) is getting easier for small business. This is due to a change to GST reporting called Simpler BAS – a partnership between the ATO, software developers, tax professionals…