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NSW Jobsaver Re-Testing Requirement

A quick breakdown of what NSW businesses need to know with retesting for JobSaver. Since the announcement by Service NSW on Friday 10 September 2021 that businesses and not-for-profit organisations will be required to confirm their eligibility to continue to receive JobSaver payments, The Tax Institute, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, the Institute of Public Accountants and the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers have been working assiduously with the NSW Governmen...

How to do the End of Financial Year (EOFY)

Here we are again, the time of year when your bookkeeper or finance team is reviewing your accounts line by line for end of financial year reporting , accountants are confirming and ruling out last minute tax deductions, and everyone seems to be talking about buying things before 30 June, This financial year has been the most challenging we have seen, with the increased financial complexity created by government initiatives such as Cashflow Boost, JobKeeper, Carry Forward Losses and Instant Asse...

2021 EOFY Tax Planning - Quick Guide

Can you believe the end of the financial year is upon us? Below are some important tax planning opportunities to consider in the lead-up to 30 June 2021.Uncapped immediate write-off for depreciable assets(a) Businesses with annual turnover of less than $5 billion can claim an immediate deduction for the full uncapped cost of an eligible depreciable asset, in the year the asset is first used or is installed ready for use where the following requirements are satisfied:The asset...

Non-profit financial and internal control

Small non-profit organisations and charities usually have limited resources to spare after expending the budgets for their stated objectives. They may not engage outside professional help due to cost constraints and their teams may lack business skills in required areas.  Implementing strong financial systems and controls can be challenging, but not impossible if a few basic principles are adhered to: Risk management - identify pressure points and action planThe directors and management ne...

Lifetime Director ID to thwart phoenixing

From mid 2021, all current and new company directors must apply for a unique lifetime identification number under a rewrite of Australia’s business registers. This follows last year's new anti-phoenixing laws passed by Parliament.. ASIC does not currently verify the identity of directors so the process of acquiring this ID, much like applying for a tax file number, will prevent the registration of officeholders, as was the view of former ASIC Commissioner John Price at a 2020 Parliamentary inq...

CGT and Granny Flats

Treasury is introducing a CGT exemption to encourage people to formalise granny flat contracts to protect the rights of the elderly. Link: To avoid CGT on these granny flat arrangements, the Board of Tax indicated that people would not formalise granny flat arrangements, and this could lead to elderly paying for the granny flat and then getting kicked out of the flat. Historically, granny flat arrangements have tended to be purely private and domestic in nature, based on concepts of tr...

A guide for company directors

Being a director is hard work. “Only be a company director if you are willing to put in the effort.”, ASIC states on its website.  Directors who fail to keep themselves adequately informed about the company’s affairs risk facing legal liability if the company gets into trouble.  A director must keep fully up-to-date on what their company is doing. To achieve this, ASIC recommends that directors (among other things): find out for themselves how any proposed action will affect the...

New Director Identification Number regime could be just around the corner

The Director Identification Number (DIN) regime may have been lost in many business owners’ peripheral vision, or even dropped off the radar completely, as it has been on the horizon for some time. But it is worth keeping in mind the ramifications of the measure, as the details could become important sooner than many realise, even before this year is out. The legislation putting the regime in place has already been passed in June last year, but the scheme is not yet in operation. This is initi...

Taken goods for private use? Here are the latest values

Taking stock home is common practice that can occur in businesses such as butchers, bakers, corner stores, cafes and more. The Tax Office regularly issues guidance for business owners on the value it expects will be allocated to goods taken from trading stock for private use. The table below shows these values for the 2019-20 income year....

Make sure you update your ABN: It can be vital

Government agencies regularly access data contained in the ABN registration, and where this is not up-to-date the taxpayer may be missing out on stimulus measures, grants, and other government support. This became painfully evident during the 2019-20 bushfires, and is now re-surfacing during COVID-19 when it was found that a concerning amount of ABN data was out-of-date. The ATO and the Australian Business Register are making efforts to remind businesses and relevant taxpayers that it is essen...

JobMaker hiring credit: What you need to know

The JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme was passed into law in mid-November 2020. JobMaker was part of the 2020-21 Federal Budget, and will operate until 6 October 2021. It is designed to improve the prospects of young individuals getting employment, by incentivising employers to hire them, following the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. The scheme will be backdated to commence on 7 October 2020 and provide eligible employers with the following payments for up to 12 months for new j...

Single touch payroll: When your reporting can cease

A business may no longer be required to lodge single touch payroll (STP) reports for a number of reasons. These are if your business no longer has employees, has ceased trading, has changed structure, is not paying employees for the rest of the year, or has paused due to COVID-19. Depending on your business’s situation and circumstances, what you need to do may be different. No longer employing staff If you cease employing staff and continue trading without employees, you must submit a finalis...

Getting a tax valuation from the ATO

Not every individual situation fits neatly with the tax laws as they stand — sometimes a taxable item’s known value (and therefore the tax that applies to it) may need to be determined. Many tax laws require the taxpayer to determine the market value of something. Common instances include: for individuals – transfers of real estate or shares between related parties, such as family membersfor employees – non-cash benefit transactions, such as gifts or other benefits such as car parkin...