Financial Stability Review – September 2024
The Financial Stability Review provides the Bank’s assessment of the current condition of the financial system and potential risks to financial stability. It is issued half-yearly. Source: https://bit.ly/4kphEtJ
Enhancing TPB Sanctions Regime: Consultation
In response to the tax adviser misconduct saga that unfolded during 2023, the government has identified several priority areas for action, including strengthening the regulatory regime and increasing the power of regulators. More details have now been released on its proposal to enhance the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) sanctions regime, with a consultation paper recently …
Employee vs Contractors: New Rules
Following on from two prominent High Court decisions in Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 and ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2, the ATO has issued a Ruling clarifying the issue of whether certain individuals are employees or independent contractors. In brief, …
FBT electric vehicle home charging rate
Since the introduction of EV incentives by various state governments to encourage the uptake of EVs and other zero emissions vehicles, the market share of EVs has significantly increased from around 0.78% in 2022 to 7.2% in 2023. According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, while EV sales only account for a small proportion …
ATO concerns over Div 7A
Division 7A of the ITAA 1936 was originally introduced as a way to uphold the integrity of the tax system by ensuring the fair taxation of transactions between private companies and their stakeholders. It addresses scenarios where private companies provide benefits or loans to shareholders or their associates and the primary objective is to prevent …
Withholding for foreign residents: an ATO focus area
Does your business or investment structure make payments such as interest, dividends or royalties to any foreign residents? You may be required to withhold tax from these payments. The ATO has recently reported that it’s currently focusing on ensuring that taxpayers are aware of these obligations. If these withholding requirements apply to you, you’ll need …
Super Guarantee a Focus Area for ATO Business Debt Collection
The ATO has revealed its focus areas for this year, with business debt collection identified as a key strategic priority. In its Corporate Plan 2024–25, the ATO says that it will have “an increased focus on business debt including superannuation guarantee, pay as you go withholding and goods and services tax”. This is a timely …
FBT: Alternatives to Employee Declarations
Employers that provide certain fringe benefits to their employees can now use appropriate alternative statutory evidentiary documents to satisfy FBT requirements with registration of legislative instruments specifying acceptable record-keeping obligations for certain FBT benefits. These instruments along with complementary legislation passed in 2023 seek to reduce the FBT compliance costs for employers. Under the FBT …
Deadline extended for NFP self-review returns
As of July, the ATO began sending letters to non-charitable not-for-profits (NFPs) to notify those organisations that the new NFP self-review return is ready to access and lodge. If you belong to one of the estimated 150,000 plus NFP organisations and are concerned that there is not enough time for your organisation to meet the …