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The ATO recognises the importance of the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) to the community and its vital role in providing for people’s retirement. Deputy Commissioner James O’Halloran said that while the vast majority of the $85.7 billion paid in superannuation each year is paid voluntarily by employers, there are reports of non-compliance from employees. “In 2015-16 …

ATO approach to dealing with super guarantee non-compliance Read More »

Cybercriminals use a variety of ways to trick you into clicking on links or opening attachments that install malware or ransomware on your computer systems. These criminals may even pose as potential clients. The malware or ransomware allows them to access your files or block you from accessing your files until you pay a ransom. …

Beware of malware and ransomware Read More »

Many business owners have a significant proportion of their wealth tied up in their business. For a large number, the business is both the source of their current income and also their retirement plan. For those who intend to sell their business at some point in order to fund their retirement, it’s never too early …

Plan early for business succession Read More »

The ATO is warning taxpayers to avoid incorrect claims for work-related expenses at tax time this year. ATO Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said the ATO is using real-time data to compare taxpayers with others in similar occupations and income brackets, to identify higher-than-expected claims related to expenses including vehicle, travel, internet and mobile phone, and …

ATO warns about work-related expense claims Read More »

In a wide-ranging address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Chris Jordan stated that the next big challenges for the ATO are influencing community attitudes about paying tax and minimising “tax gaps”. No tax system has, or ever will have, zero gaps but the challenge is to minimise them, he said. For large corporates, …

Commissioner flags work-related expenses as a problem area Read More »

The ATO has successfully sued a former company director to recover the company’s unpaid PAYG withholding liabilities of more than $108,000: DCT v Smith [2017] NSWDC 102, NSW District Court, Montgomery DCJ, 12 May 2017. The defendant had been a non-executive director of CCIA Employees Pty Ltd, which was a member of a group of …

Former director liable for company’s unpaid tax liabilities Read More »

The AAT has dismissed a taxpayer company’s appeal and held that the taxpayer had not discharged the burden of proving that the Commissioner’s amended assessments denying it input tax credits (ITCs) totalling $817,207 for earthwork services in relation to a development project were excessive: GH1 Pty Ltd, in Liquidation and FCT [2017] AATA 1063, AAT, …

Property developer denied input tax credits Read More »

Cloud-based software has proven to provide more efficiency for accountants. With accounting platforms such as Simple Fund 360, Class Super, MYOB and Xero already operating ‘in the cloud’, it’s worth understanding the benefits of cloud technology for accountants. What is the cloud? The easiest way to understand the cloud is to think of it as …

Take your accounting business into the cloud? Read More »

To avoid unwanted attention from the ATO and keep your clients above board, you’ll need to be totally across the new Single Touch Payroll reporting legislation. Employers may have heard their payroll team throw around the term ‘Single Touch Payroll reporting’ (STPR) recently. The STPR legislation was part of the Budget Savings (Omnibus) Act 2016 …

Single Touch Payroll (Good, Bad & Ugly) Read More »

The Australian Tax Office has hit back at criticism of the Single Touch Payroll arrangements from small business groups and industry superannuation funds. The ATO took the unusual step of issuing a detailed statement rejecting a number of claims by the Council of Small Business and the industry superannuation funds organisation Industry Super about the …

ATO Defends Single Touch Payroll Read More »