News Updates

The Federal Government has announced that it will extend the special rules applying to bankruptcy actions and director personal liability claims. The rules were implemented in March to prevent a wave of bankruptcies and court actions being caused by the pandemic economic downturn, before businesses had a chance to recover – the end date extended from 28 September to 31 December 2020.

If your small business has not only survived but thrived during the pandemic, you may be considering a change of business structure, typically from sole trader to more complex arrangements such as a company or trust structures. Any changes should be well thought-out and carefully implemented to avoid costly mistakes.

The Reserve Bank forecasts the economy will contract 6% this year before rebounding 5% in 2021.

As the pandemic drags on, there may be many unintended consequences for businesses in relation to benefits that you provide in addition to salary and wages, namely FBT. While exemptions and concessions may be available to reduce or eliminate the amount of FBT business have to pay, care should be taken to avoid any excess amounts.

If you’re one of the many Australians that has taken up loan payment deferrals for their homes or businesses, beware as the repayment holiday for most financial institutions is due to end in September. According to APRA data, 11% of housing loans were deferred and 17% of small business loans were deferred as at 30 June 2020.

Among the chaos of the pandemic, many businesses may not be aware that they will be required to lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) for the first time this year. Your business may need to lodge a TPAR if payments were made to either contractors or subcontractors to provide certain services.

In an effort to reduce the instances of phoenixing, where the controllers of a company deliberately avoid paying liabilities by shutting down indebted companies and transferring assets to another company, a new initiative of director identification numbers (DINs) has been passed and will come into effect in the near future.

The government’s July budget update gave an insight into the economic impact of the health crisis, below is a video to assist you to stay up to date with the latest indicators.

As most Australian companies focus on the health of their customers and staff at this critical time, it is important to not neglect the business side of things, especially GST.

Businesses nervous about the state of the economy in the wake of a potential second wave can breathe a sigh of relief; the government has confirmed its intention extend the JobKeeper beyond the current legislated end date of 27 September with a few tweaks to eligibility and payment rates.