Latest News
Temporary Reduction in Pension Minimum Drawdown Rates Extended
| | | The Government has announced an extension of the temporary reduction in superannuation minimum drawdown rates for a further year to 30 June 2022. As part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic (and the negative effect on the account balance of superannuation pensions), the Government reduced the superannuation minimum drawdown rates […]
Cryptocurrency Under the Microscope This Tax Time
| | | The ATO is concerned that many taxpayers believe their cryptocurrency gains are tax-free, or only taxable when the holdings are cashed back into Australian dollars. ATO data analysis shows a dramatic increase in trading since the beginning of 2020 and has estimated that there are over 600,000 taxpayers that have invested […]
Government Proposal to Modernise Business Communications
| | | The Government has committed to modernising certain laws so that they are ‘technology neutral’, to enable easier communication between businesses, individuals and regulators. The first phase of legislative reform will focus on key areas raised by stakeholders which are implementation-ready (ideally by the end of 2021), including: expanding the range of […]
ATO Keeping Jobkeeper Payment Fair
| | | The ATO is using its compliance resources to maintain the integrity of the JobKeeper measure. While most businesses and employees have done the right thing, the ATO has identified concerning and fraudulent behaviour as well as claims by a small number of organisations and employees, and will actively pursue these claims. […]
Independent Review Service for Small Businesses Made Permanent
| | | Following a successful multi-year pilot, the ATO’s small business independent review service will be offered permanently as a dispute resolution option for eligible small businesses. ATO Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Geale said the service is all about ensuring small businesses are given the opportunity to achieve an independent, fast, free, and fair […]
ATO Asks Businesses to Check if They Are Still Using Their ABNs
| | | The ATO has advised that, if a business hasn’t used its ABN for a while, the ATO may contact them about cancelling their ABN. The ATO may also contact them about their ABN if their business situation has changed. To ensure businesses don’t miss out on Government support, including during unfortunate […]
Work-related expense claims rejected by Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’)
The Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) recently disallowed a taxpayer’s claims for many different types of work-related expenses. The taxpayer was employed full-time as an engineer, working from home two days a week. For the 2023 income year, he claimed deductions totalling over $61,000, in relation to (among other things) car expenses, travel expenses, clothing expenses, […]
Check GST credit claims before lodging BASs
Taxpayers who are registered for GST can get GST credit claims (or ‘input tax credits’) for the GST included in the price of goods and services they buy for their business. However, if they buy something for both business and private use, they need to apportion their GST credit to only claim the business use. […]
Government payments programs
The ATO is reminding taxpayers that receive government payments for delivering services under a Commonwealth program, such as healthcare, disability support or child care, that they have an obligation to: keep accurate records; and report any such income they receive in their tax return. The ATO recently advised that it would be contacting taxpayers and […]
Contractors omitting income
Through data matching, the ATO is seeing some contractors incorrectly reporting or contractors omitting income. Contractors need to report all their income in their tax return, including payments made by businesses for their contracting work. Note that, as part of the taxable payments reporting system (‘TPRS’), certain businesses must lodge a ‘Taxable payments annual report’ […]
Businesses using cash to dodge obligations
The ATO is ‘cracking down’ on businesses that use cash to dodge obligations on their tax, employer and business. Businesses that do this may: – fail to report all sales transactions and fail to issue receipts; – avoid paying GST, income tax, PAYG withholding, super guarantee, insurance and work cover protection; – report their income […]
$20,000 instant asset write-off extended
Editor: The Government recently passed legislation to extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small businesses by 12 months to 30 June 2026. Taxpayers should note that if their business has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million, they may be able touse the instant asset write-off (‘IAWO’) to immediately deduct the business […]