Category: Small Business
Here’s what attracts the ATO’s attention about luxury car tax
The ATO has announced that it has identified some common errors regarding luxury car tax (LCT) claims, but also says there are issues it has identified with LCT that are more associated with actively trying to pay less tax than required. Common errorsSome common errors the ATO has identified when taxpayers report or claim LCT...
COVID-19 instant asset write off and accelerated depreciation
While many of the COVID-19 stimulus changes such as the JobKeeper payment are grabbing headlines, it is easy to overlook the significance of the $150,000 instant asset write off provisions. The key changes for the instant asset write off include the following. Certain business entities can access an immediate deduction for the full cost of...
Alternative turnover test for JobKeeper released
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...
Your business and the JobKeeper scheme
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...
Employers get an amnesty for missed super payments – April 2020
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...
e-bikes, FBT, and salary sacrificing – April 2020
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...
GST obligations now come under the director penalty regime – March 2020 Bonus Article
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...
Security online more important than ever – March 2020
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...
Bonus Article, Car parking fringe benefits and arm’s length valuation
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...
Succession planning for family businesses
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...