News Updates

With June 30 behind us and the economy slowly re-opening, most business owners are thinking about the challenge of repairing and rebuilding their finances after the COVID-19 lockdown.

In a bid to improve the experience of taxpayers when dealing with the ATO in relation to deceased estates, the Inspector General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) has recently completed a report which identified opportunities to improve tax administration and cut unnecessary tax compliance.

With many Australian businesses taking part in the government’s COVID-19 stimulus package including the JobKeeper and the cash flow boost, the ATO has now commenced a compliance program to weed out those that are exploiting the stimulus; in order to level the playing field for the majority of businesses that are doing the right thing.

After 28 years Australia’s record economic expansion ended due to the COVID shutdowns, below is a video to assist you to stay up to date with the latest indicators.
 

If you’re a retail or hospitality worker, 2020 has perhaps not been the best year. However, as with everything, there is a silver lining, with tax time just around the corner, you may be able to get a larger refund than usual. This is due to either being on reduced incomes or having the ability to claim a wider range of deductions, such as deductions for protective equipment (eg gloves, face masks, sanitiser or anti-bacterial spray), or for some, a combination of both.

If your business is one of many that received the initial cash flow boosts as a part of the government’s COVID-19 economic stimulus measures, prepare for more help coming your way. When you lodge your monthly or quarterly activity statements for June to September 2020, your business will receive additional cash flow boosts.

The ATO has recently released a guideline which provides a transitional compliance approach for complying super funds including SMSFs concerning the application of provisions in relation to certain non-arm’s length expenditure (or where expenditure is not incurred) in gaining or producing ordinary or statutory income.

In Australia, there are approximately 5,000 high wealth private groups encompassing 9,000 individuals and 18,000 companies, whilst providing employment for around 780,000 people. 

As May unfolded, hopes grew of economic re-opening, below is a video to assist you to stay up to date with the latest indicators.

With the Federal government planning to ramp up infrastructure spending to get the economy going with “nation building” projects, the opportunity is ripe for businesses to take full advantage and tender for these contracts. Before you dive into writing your tender, you should be aware that any contracts over $4m (including GST) will require your business to obtain a statement of tax record (STR) from the ATO.