An alternative decline in turnover test for the JobKeeper payment scheme has now been registered by the ATO. The ATO says the alternative tests will only kick in if an entity cannot satisfy the basic decline in turnover test. The instrument applies to provide alternative bases for a class of entities (more below) to satisfy...

The ATO has been charged with running the JobKeeper Payment scheme, which is intended to support businesses that are financially affected by COVID-19 to help keep their staff employed. Employers will be required to pay their eligible employees a minimum of $1,500 a fortnight, before tax, to claim the JobKeeper payment. This is then paid...

It has been a long time coming, but a planned government amnesty for employers who have missed paying the superannuation guarantee (SG) to their employees has now become law. The amnesty was passed on 6 March 2020, and lasts until 7 September 2020. The amnesty allows employers to make deductible payments, without penalties, of outstanding...

Entering into a remuneration package to secure a vehicle through a salary sacrifice arrangement is a popular option offered to employees. However the ATO has issued a ruling on another particular set of wheels that opens up both a tax and health incentive. ATO guidance covering the use of an electric bicycle (e-bike*) by an...

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2019 received assent on 17 February 2020. The legislation includes a range of measures targeting illegal phoenixing including penalties for directors related to GST liabilities (making directors personally liable for unpaid GST if the unpaid liability is not paid within 21 days of a director penalty notice...

Communication over an online channel has certainly become the default these days, and dealing with the ATO is no exception. In fact the transition to online has plainly been developing over some years. More and more transactions and interactions are taking place, for example, over the government’s initiative myGov — not just the ATO, but...

The ATO has announced that from February it is intending to contact a selection of business taxpayers that provide car parking benefits to their employees, and that use the market value method to arrive at a taxable value, to ensure these values have been calculated correctly. There are five ways that an employer can calculate...

For most family businesses as well as private groups, succession planning (sometimes known as transition planning) involves considerations around the eventual sale of your business, or the passing of control of it to other family members when you retire. Depending on your circumstances, this may include realising assets and making other changes to ownership, but...

There is a simple step that many businesses can take to better manage the risk that can attach to certain assets Not so many years ago, a new scheme was introduced, which also established a national register, that could affect anyone who answers “yes” to any of the following scenarios — are you in business,...

The personal services income (PSI) rules apply to income that is earned mainly from the personal efforts or skills of a person. It does not matter whether the income is earned by the individual in their own name or through an entity such as a business. The rules do not apply to income earned from...