News relating to tax
ATO refocuses on debt collection
The ATO has not pursued many business tax debts during the pandemic and allowed tax refunds to flow through even if the business had a tax debt. That position has now changed and the ATO has resumed debt collection and offsetting tax debts against refunds. If you have a tax […]
Tax Time Targets
The ATO has flagged four priority areas this tax season where people are making mistakes.
With tax season almost upon us the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has revealed its four areas of focus this tax season.
Record-keepingWork-related expensesRental property income and deductions, andCapital gains from crypto assets, property, and shares.
In general, there […]
What’s changing on 1 July 2022?
A series of reforms and changes will commence on 1 July 2022. Here’s what is coming up:
For business
Superannuation guarantee increase to 10.5%
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate will rise from 10% to 10.5% on 1 July 2022 and will continue to increase by 0.5% each year until it reaches 12% on […]
Can I claim a tax deduction for my gym membership?
There are lots of reasons to keep fit but very few of them have to do with how we earn our income. As a result, a tax deduction for a gym membership isn’t available to most people. And yes, the Tax Office has heard all the arguments before about how […]
Fuel tax credit changes
The Government temporarily halved the excise and excise equivalent customs duty rates for petrol, diesel and all other petroleum-based products (except aviation fuels) for 6 months from 30 March 2022 until 28 September 2022. This has caused a reduction in fuel tax credit rates.During this 6 month period, businesses using […]
Immediate Deductions Extended
Temporary full expensing enables your business to fully expense the cost of:
new depreciable assetsimprovements to existing eligible assets, andsecond hand assets
in the first year of use.Introduced in the 2020-21 Budget and now extended until 30 June 2023, this measure enables an asset’s cost to be fully deductible upfront rather than […]
The ATO’s Attack on Trusts and Trust Distributions
Late last month, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released a package of new guidance material that directly targets how trusts distribute income. Many family groups will pay higher taxes (now and potentially retrospectively) as a result of the ATO’s more aggressive approach.
Family trust beneficiaries at risk
The tax legislation contains an […]
PCR and RAT tests to be tax deductible, FBT free
The Treasurer has announced that PCR and rapid antigen tests (RAT) will be tax deductible for individuals and exempt from fringe benefits tax (FBT) for employers if purchased for work purposes.There has been confusion over the tax treatment of RAT tests with the Prime Minister stating for some time that […]
The ‘Backpacker Tax’ and the High Court
The High Court has ruled that the ‘backpacker tax’ is discriminatory. We look at the impact.Since 2017, the ‘backpacker tax’ has taxed the first dollar of income a backpacker earns in Australia – regardless of their residency status – at the working holiday maker tax rate of 15% up to:
$37,000 […]
The top Christmas tax questions
Every year, we are asked about the tax impact of various Christmas or holiday related gestures. Here are our top issues:
Staff gifts
The key to Christmas presents for your team is to keep the gift spontaneous, ad hoc, and from a tax perspective, below $300 per person. $300 is the minor […]
