Partners to rely on

Labor’s tax and superannuation policies

As we approach the inevitable but as yet unannounced 2019 Federal Election, Australians are starting to consider policies of the major parties, and we are particularly interested in the policies related to tax and superannuation.

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NEWSFLASH: Single Touch Payroll extended to small employers!

After a long period of uncertainty, the legislation extending the electronic Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting regime to employers with 19 or fewer employees was agreed to by the Senate on 5 December 2018.

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Christmas Parties and Gifts

With the festive season fast approaching it is a good time to revisit the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), GST and income tax implications associated with the holiday season, in particular the Christmas functions and gifts that businesses may provide to staff and clients at this time of the year.

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Foreign residents to lose access to main residence exemption

Perhaps guided by the assumption that most foreign residents do not vote, the Government has expanded the raft of measures clawing back tax concessions from those who are not Australian residents for tax purposes (including in many cases Australians who reside overseas). One of these new measures announced in the Federal Budget in May, was the prop...

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Business tax debt to be reported to credit agencies

The Government has announced that it will allow the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disclose tax debt information of businesses to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs), in certain circumstances. The measure is aimed at supporting “more informed decision making in the business community” and reducing “unfair advantage gained by businesses ...

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Genuine ATO call or a scam attempt? ATO issues guidance on how to tell the difference

The ATO has warned that identifying information like tax file numbers (TFNs), bank account numbers or your date of birth are the keys to your identity, and can be used by scammers to break into your life if they are compromised, and it is essential to keep this information secure.There is increased fraudulent activity at this time of the year, with...

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Foreign tax residents with HECS/HELP & TSL debt now have to make compulsory repayments and report their worldwide income to the ATO

In a widely publicised move, the Australian Government has introduced changes relating to Higher Education Loan Program (HELP – previously HECS) and Trade Support Loan (TSL) repayment obligations.The first loan repayments will commence from 1 July 2017 and will be based on your worldwide income for the 2016/17 Australian income year (that is, from ...

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A superannuation deduction you (probably) can claim (but not till 2018!)

On a positive note, from 1 July 2017, it is much easier for employees to claim a deduction in their own tax returns for personal superannuation contributions. These are the contributions made in addition to the 9.5% superannuation guarantee and salary sacrifice contributions, made by their employers. The change is a result of removal of the old “10...

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11 deductions you (probably) can’t claim

The ATO has published a warning to the taxpayers on their website as the tax season unfolds, titled “Don’t be a dummy with your deductions” and followed up with an article titled “Pull up your socks and don’t claim them”. These publications come in the wake of the ATO Commissioner’s public comments about the apparently rampant over-claiming by indi...

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Are you buying or selling Australian property valued at $750,000 or higher? A new tax withholding regime applies!

And by “property” we mean:residential or commercial real estatevacant land farm landmining/quarrying/prospecting rightsleases over real propertya membership interest of 10% or more in an entity whose underlying value is principally derived from the above.From 1 July 2016 Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding has applied to sales of Australian ...

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