ATO embarking on e-Audits – The ATO has published information about the “e-Audit” technology it uses as part of its tax compliance activities.
Court finds pay-as-you-go amounts “withheld” from salary payments – A court has ruled that pay-as-you-go amounts were “withheld” from a taxpayer’s salary, despite the amounts never being remitted to the ATO by her employers.
“Transition to retirement” pensions to become simpler – The government will simplify the transfer of transition to retirement income streams (TRISs) on the death of a pensioner.
ATO releases latest small business benchmarks – The ATO has released its latest small business benchmarks, providing over 100 different industries with average cost of sales and average total expenses.
Capital gains tax withholding: updated information for trustees – The ATO has released guidance for trusts and superannuation funds about applying to the ATO for a clearance certificate for the purposes of the foreign resident capital gains tax withholding regime.
Goods and services tax on low-value imported goods – From 1 July 2018, goods and services tax will apply to some offshore supplies of goods valued at $1,000 or less that are purchased by consumers and brought into Australia.
Superannuation rates and thresholds for 2018–2019 – We summarise some of the key superannuation rates and thresholds for the upcoming financial year.
Super guarantee: ATO compliance approach to non-payment – The ATO has released a fact sheet explaining its compliance approach to employers who fail to meet their superannuation guarantee obligations.
Single Touch Payroll reporting: ATO urges employers to get ready – The ATO is urging employers with 20 or more employees to start preparing now for the Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting regime.
Bill to implement housing affordability CGT changes – As part of the 2017–2018 Budget, the Federal Government announced a range of CGT reforms to reduce pressure on housing affordability.
Changes to small business CGT concessions – Treasury has released draft legislation to make sure that only small business taxpayers can access the small business CGT concessions.
Bill to change residential property GST arrangements – A Bill has been introduced to require buyers of new residential premises and new residential subdivisions to pay the related GST directly to the ATO.
Moving to combat the black economy – The Government has accepted a number of the Black Economy Taskforce’s recommendations, and has introduced a Bill into Parliament to implement them.
Corporate tax avoidance: latest ATO targets – The ATO has provided an update on its latest focus areas and the compliance projects it is undertaking to reduce corporate tax avoidance.
Social security means testing of lifetime retirement income streams – The Department of Social Services has released its proposed means testing rules for pooled lifetime retirement income streams.
ATO now issuing excess transfer balance determinations – The ATO is now sending out excess transfer balance determinations to individuals who have exceeded the superannuation transfer balance cap.
Windfarm grant was an assessable recoupment – The Full Federal Court has held that a Commonwealth grant for establishing a windfarm was an assessable recoupment.
ATO guidelines: profit allocation within professional firms – The guidelines on Everett assignments and the allocation of profits within professional firms are being misinterpreted for some higher-risk arrangements.
Housing affordability measures now law – legislation has been passed to implement the First Home Super Saver Scheme and downsizing contribution exemption.
Fringe benefits tax: employees’ private use of vehicles – The ATO has issued employer guidance on determining an employee’s private use of a vehicle.
Tax consequences of trust vesting – The ATO has issued a ruling on trust vesting, including changing a trust’s vesting date and the CGT and income tax consequences of vesting.
Disclosing business tax debt information to credit agencies – Draft legislation and a draft legislative instrument have been released to authorise the ATO to disclose business tax debt information to registered credit reporting bureaus.
Taxing employee share scheme dividend equivalent payments – The ATO has determined that dividend equivalent payments under an ESS are assessable as employee income when received for or in connection with services provided as an employee.
Superannuation integrity changes – The Government has released a consultation paper and exposure draft legislation to give effect to super taxation integrity measures announced in the 2017–2018 Federal Budget.
Guidance for SMSFs on transfer balance reporting – The ATO has released guidance on SMSF reporting of events affecting their members’ transfer balance accounts.
Consultation paper: combating phoenix activities – The Federal Government has released a consultation paper proposing company and tax law reforms to combat phoenix activities.
New passive income test for lower corporate tax rate – The Federal Government has introduced a Bill to put a passive income test in place for corporate tax entities.
ATO guidance: what is “carrying on a business”? – The ATO has issued a draft taxation ruling to explain the factors it will consider when deciding whether a company “carries on a business”.
Total super balances and pension transfer balance account reports – The ATO has agreed to modify the reporting obligation for total super balances, and has set out when super providers and life insurance companies must lodge transfer balance account reports.
Fringe benefits tax: should an Uber be treated as a taxi? – The ATO is now examining whether Uber trips should be eligible for the “taxi travel” FBT exemption.
Tax treatment of long-term construction contracts – the ATO has explained what accounting methods taxpayers can use for long-term construction projects.
Foreign equity distributions to corporate entities – Two recent taxation determinations deal with how the foreign equity distribution rules apply where the recipient is a corporate partner in a partnership or a corporate beneficiary of a trust.
Compensation for ATO systems outages – The ATO has advised about how it will assess claims for compensation following its recent systems outages.
Small business restructure rollover – The ATO is proposing to modify how the small business restructure rollover operates.
Tax cut closed off for passive investment companies – The Government has released exposure draft legislation to deny access to the lower corporate tax rate of 27.5% for companies with predominantly passive income.
Identification numbers for directors – The Government has announced a package of reforms to combat phoenix activities, including the introduction of a Director Identification Number.
Legislation for First Home Super Saver scheme and downsizer super contributions – A new Bill to enact these measures has been introduced into Parliament.
No GST on digital currency – The GST Act is being amended to ensure that supplies of digital currency receive equivalent GST treatment to supplies of money.
New financial and superannuation complaints authority – The Australian Financial Complaints Authority will resolve disputes about products and services provided by financial firm.
Superannuation guarantee – The Government has announced a crackdown on employer non-compliance and new legislation will prevent employers using an employee’s salary sacrifice contributions to reduce the employer’s minimum contributions.
Bill to increase Medicare levy – A Bill has been introduced to implement the Government’s 2017–2018 Budget announcement to increase the Medicare levy to 2.5% by 1 July 2019 to help finance NDIS.
Budget changes to foreign resident CGT draft legislation – Draft legislation has been released to remove the entitlement to CGT exemption for foreign residents with a main residence dwelling.
Foreign resident CGT withholding – The Commissioner plans to modify the time a vendor is entitled to a tax credit in respect of an amount withheld under the foreign resident CGT rules.
Further guidance for tax losses via a new “similar business” test – Draft guidance offers a new “similar business” test to further utilise tax losses.
ATO increases its scrutiny on work-related expenses – New guidance from ATO on common mistakes people make when claiming their work-related expenses.
Lodging nil activity statements in advance – The ATO has released a set of circumstances under which an individual may lodge statements early.
New downsizing cap available – Treasury releases draft legislation to allow those over 65 to make additional non-concessional contributions from the proceeds of selling their home.
GST: simplified accounting for food retailers – A simplified accounting method is being offered by the ATO to help food retailers to work out the GST they owe.
Super system reforms – Australian Prudential Registration Authority responds to Government super system reforms with aim to promote financial interests of members on a range of indicators.
Segregated current pension assets – The Actuaries Institute has issued a warning that self-managed super funds could be at risk of incorrectly claiming exempt current pension income.
First Home Super Saver Scheme – Treasury has released draft legislation to implement FHSSS to allow voluntary super contributions from 1 July 2017 to be used for a first home deposit starting from 1 July 2018.
Rise in Super assets – APRA has released a report to confirm that superannuation assets total $2.3 trillion at June 2017.
Work-related expense claims under scrutiny – The ATO has warned taxpayers to avoid making incorrect work-related expense claims at tax time this year.
Employee travel expense deductions – A new draft ATO ruling covers transport expenses and expenditure incurred when employees travel away from home.
Working holidaymakers and tax returns for 2017 – Employers of working holidaymakers need to be aware of the “backpacker tax” changes in place from 1 January 2017.
Small business instant asset write-offs – The $20,000 threshold for eligible assets now applies until 30 June 2018.
Tax debts: setting up a payment plan – Small businesses with tax debt of $100,000 or less can use the ATO’s self-help service to set up a payment plan.
Federal Court rules on PAYG avoidance – The Federal Court has ruled that Sunraysia Harvesting Contractors Pty Ltd used a “sham” arrangement to avoid its tax obligations.
Tax assessments confirmed for undisclosed business income – The AAT has upheld tax assessments and allowed increased penalties after a business under-reported its activities and income.
ASIC takes action on super fund disclosures – ASIC has written to the trustees of 21 super funds about their failure to meet transparency information requirements.
Companies should consider reporting tax liabilities: AASB – More Australian companies could be recognising amounts in dispute with the ATO in their financial reports.
Tax cut for small businesses – Legislation has now passed to apply a 27.5% corporate tax rate from 1 July 2016 for small business entities (SBEs) with aggregated turnover of under $10 million.
Instant asset write-off extended for small business entities – The Treasury Laws Amendment (Accelerated Depreciation For Small Business Entities) Act 2017 extends the period during which SBEs can access accelerated depreciation. The extension is for 12 months, ending on 30 June 2018.
ATO update on Manage ABN Connections – The ATO says feedback from tax professionals identified that further work is required to meet their needs. The ATO advised that the myGov login is therefore not currently available to access the Tax or BAS Agent Portals.
Work-related deductions denied – A pipe fitter has been denied deductions by the AAT for work-related expenses because the taxpayer was unable to produce adequate documentary evidence.
Super reforms – The Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No 2) Act 2017 sees changes to TRIS, CGT relief, pension cap and LRBA integrity rules come into effect from 1 July 2017.
Self-managed super funds – The 2017 SMSF annual return and instructions have been released. The key changes include the transitional CGT relief for super funds as part of the 1 July 2017 reforms, reporting on limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) and early stage investor tax incentives.
Single Touch Payroll operative for early adopters – Single Touch Payroll (STP) is here. It had a “soft” or voluntary start on 1 July 2017. From that date, employers may choose to report under STP.
“Netflix” tax – From 1 July 2017, the supply of services, digital products or rights are connected with Australia (and so potentially liable to GST) if made to an Australian consumer by an overseas-based supplier. GST Ruling GSTR 2017/1 explains how overseas suppliers can decide whether a recipient of a supply is an Australian consumer.
GST draft guidelines – New draft guidelines have been issued explaining the low-value imported goods measures and how they apply to supplies made through electronic distribution platforms (EDPs) and redeliverers of offshore supplies
Higher education HELP changes announced – A package of reforms affecting the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) is expected to take effect generally from 1 January 2018.
Super reforms from 1 July 2017 – Superannuation changes related to the new $1.6 million transfer balance cap are now coming into effect.
Draft legislation: LRBA integrity measures for pension cap – Exposure draft legislation has been released proposing integrity measures for limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) as part of the super reforms.
Senate Committee holds corporate tax avoidance hearing – A public hearing was recently held in Perth as part of the inquiry into corporate tax avoidance and minimisation.
Higher education HELP changes: faster repayments and threshold changes – The Minister for Education and Training has announced a package of higher education reforms to be confirmed in the Federal Budget.
Deductions for super funds: major ruling update – The ATO has issued Addendum to Taxation Ruling TR 93/17 to clarify and update the Commissioner’s views on deductions available for superannuation funds.
Bill to reduce corporate tax rate – The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enterprise Tax Plan No 2) Bill 2017 has been introduced.
Budget updates – Information about the announcements on introducing a charge for foreign owners of under-used residential property, restricting foreign ownership within new developments and introducing tougher residency rules for pensioners.
Transfer pricing – The Full Federal Court has found Chevron Australia’s loan arrangement with a related US company was not at arm’s length. The ATO has also released draft information about its compliance approach to related-party financing arrangements.
Car expenses for transporting equipment disallowed – A taxpayer been denied deductions for work-related car expenses.
Draft legislation: financial complaints and dispute resolution – A new one-stop shop for financial disputes, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), will be established.
Tax assistance for people affected by Cyclone Debbie – The ATO will fast-track refunds and provide a range of other tax-related supports for individuals and businesses within affected areas in Queensland and New South Wales.
ATO adds value to developing financial literacy – The ATO is helping teachers add tax and super to their classes this year with dedicated educational resources.
Does your business import or export goods and services? – A reminder to business owners about the GST obligations associated with import/export activities.
Senate Committee holds corporate tax avoidance hearing – A public hearing was recently held in Perth as part of the inquiry into corporate tax avoidance and minimisation.
Higher education HELP changes: faster repayments and threshold changes – The Minister for Education and Training has announced a package of higher education reforms to be confirmed in the Federal Budget.
Super guarantee non-compliance: Senate Committee report – A report has called for the ATO to take a more proactive stance regarding employers’ super guarantee non-compliance.
Illegal SMSF early access scheme leads to $6,000 fine – A Melbourne man has been found guilty of operating a financial services business without an AFS licence and promoting an illegal SMSF scheme.
