ATO to resume collecting aged debts
The ATO has recently announced that it will resume collecting aged debts by offsetting tax refunds or credits. Age debts are a collective term the ATO uses to refer to its uneconomical non-pursued debts that it has placed on hold and has not undertaken any recent action to collect. These debts do not typically show …
What’s next on the agenda for the government
Now that the election is over, and the Labor party is officially in government people will be interested to see what policies and changes are now likely to occur. A helpful starting point is Labor’s election promises which provide a useful indication of possible areas that will be targeted over the next few years. Two …
Single Touch Payroll: Phase 2
Single touch payroll (STP) has now entered into Phase 2, although most employers may not yet be reporting under this phase as many digital service providers (DSP) have obtained deferrals to help get their software ready and help their customers transition. Essentially, STP works by sending tax and super information from an STP-enabled payroll or …
Tax time 2022: ATO focus areas
Tax time 2022 is fast approaching, and this financial year, the ATO will again be focusing on a few key areas to ensure that individuals are doing the right thing and paying the right amount of tax. These key areas are considered by the ATO to be problem areas where individuals make the most mistakes. …
Operation Protego: detecting GST fraud
The ATO has lifted the lid on its most recent operation to stamp out GST fraud, Operation Protego, in order to warn the business community to not engage with fraudulent behaviour and encourage those who have fallen into the trap to voluntarily disclose, before the application of tougher penalties. According to the ATO, Operation Protego …
Non-commercial losses safe habour: natural disasters
Where an individual, either alone or in a partnership, carries on a business activity, the non-commercial loss rules generally apply to prevent losses from non-commercial activities (ie where the outgoings or deductions exceeds the income) from being offset against income from other sources (ie salary and wages of the individual or other income). This is …
Election 2022: winning the senior vote
Ahead of a tightly-contested election and in a bid to win the senior vote, both major parties have promised to expand the eligibility of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) and freeze the social security deeming rates for 2 years if elected. The CSHC is a concession card that enables eligible seniors who have reached …
More ATO action on super guarantee non-compliance
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has recently issued a report on the results of an audit conducted on the effectiveness of ATO activities in addressing super guarantee (SG) non-compliance. While ANAO notes that the SG system operates largely without regulatory intervention as employers make contributions directly to super funds or through clearing houses, the …