Latest News
ATO Data Matching Program – Visa
| | | The ATO will acquire visa data from the Department of Home Affairs for 2020/21 through to 2022/23, relating to approximately 10 million individuals for each financial year. The data will be used to identify non-compliance with obligations under taxation and superannuation laws, including registration, lodgment, reporting and payment responsibilities. HAVE QUESTIONS […]
Improvements to be Made to Full Expensing Measure
| | | The government will expand eligibility for the temporary ‘full expensing measure’, which temporarily allows certain businesses to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets in the year they are first used or installed. The government initially announced in the 2020/21 Budget that businesses with a turnover of up to $5 […]
How to Avoid Getting Dodgy Advice
| | | The ATO is warning taxpayers who may be thinking about pausing, changing or closing their business, due to the current economic conditions, to be wary of untrustworthy advisers who may recommend inappropriate or illegal behaviour. This could include illegal phoenix activity, where businesses intentionally remove their assets prior to winding up […]
STP Data-Sharing With Services Australia
| | | Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) allows the ATO to share data in real-time with other government agencies, to “help them deliver government services to the Australian community”. As part of the ATO’s data-matching program, it has a STP data-sharing arrangement with Services Australia to help them administer Australia’s welfare system. This means […]
Proposed FBT Exemption — Retraining And Reskilling
| | | The government has announced it will introduce an exemption from FBT for retraining and reskilling benefits provided by employers to redundant, or soon to be redundant, employees where the benefits may not be related to their current employment. It is proposed that this exemption will not apply to: retraining provided under […]
JobMaker Hiring Credit Passed
| | | The government has passed legislation to establish the JobMaker Hiring Credit, which is part of the government’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The JobMaker Hiring Credit is specifically designed to encourage businesses to take on additional young employees and increase employment. It does this by providing employers with a fixed […]
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Zone Tax Offset – exclude ‘fly-in-fly-out’
In the 2015–16 Federal Budget, the government announced that it will exclude ‘fly-in-fly-out’ and ‘drive-in-drive-out’ (FIFO) workers from the Zone Tax Offset where their normal residence is not within a ‘zone’. Currently, to be eligible for the Zone Tax Offset, a taxpayer must reside or work in a specified remote area for more than 183 […]
Employee Share Scheme Changes
Changes to the tax treatment of employee share schemes (ESS) took effect on 1 July 2015. These apply to Employee Share Scheme interests (shares, stapled securities and rights to acquire them) issued on or after that date. There are changes to some existing rules as well as new concessions for employees of start-up companies. The […]
Investments
Profits or returns you make on your Investments usually become part of your income for tax purposes. Many expenses relating to your Investments are tax deductible – for example, interest on money you borrow to buy shares. Australian residents for tax purposes are taxed on their worldwide income, so whether you have investments in Australia or […]
Truck Drivers: Work-Related Expenses
As tax time is fast approaching we will be outlining common work-related expenses for Truck Drivers. Short-haul or local Truck Drivers usually return home at the end of a day’s work. A long-haul Truck Drivers usually sleeps away from home in the course of driving the truck. When you can make a claim In […]
GST – Goods and Services Tax
GST (Goods and services tax ) is a broad-based tax of 10% on most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in Australia. How does the GST work Generally, businesses and other organizations registered for the Goods and Services Tax will: include GST in the price they charge for their goods and services claim credits […]
Investing in shares
Dividends (income from shares) are considered income for tax purposes. There are also other tax implications of obtaining, owning and disposing of shares, including shares in employee share schemes. You can claim deductions for costs related to the dividend income, such as management fees and interest on money you borrowed to buy the shares. Obtaining […]