How to Prepare for a Tax Office Visit The Tax Office is actively targeting geographic areas for special visits as part of a nationwide crackdown on the black economy. A consistent theme this tax time is overclaiming and under-reporting. With the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) getting more and more sophisticated in its data matching approaches,…
Timing of resolutions of your Trust Trustees (or directors of a trustee company) need to consider and decide on the distributions they plan to make by 30 June 2019 at the latest (the trust deed may actually require this to be done earlier). Decisions made by the trustees should be documented in writing, preferably by…
Client Alert: important Changes you need to know about the ATO and your MyGov Account MyGov Account Users This client alert is for those clients who have a “MyGov” account. If you don’t have a MyGov account then this client alert does not apply to you. For those clients who have registered and use “MyGov”…
Around 3.8M small businesses, including 1.6M sole traders, in Australia We employ around 5.5 million people and contribute $380bn to the economy. Small business is also in debt to the ATO to the tune of $15bn. This tax time, the ATO has stated they are looking closely at taxpayers: setting up or changing to a…
Work-related deductions for you Last financial year, over 8.8 million taxpayers claimed $21.98 billion in deductions for work-related expenses. It’s an area under intense review by the ATO. If you claim work-related deductions, it’s important to ensure that you are able to substantiate any claim you make. To claim a deduction, you need to have…
Victorian State Government Budget – 27 May 2019 The Victorian state government recently handed down its annual state budget and there are a number of changes that will impact both business and investors. A summary of the key items is as follows. Payroll Tax The government’s three key changes are: Increase in the tax-free threshold…
Budget 2019-20: The pre-election announcements that are now law The Federal Budget announced a series of measures, some of which were legislated before the election was called. There are no guarantees, however, that any policies or announcements not already legislated will come to fruition – that will depend on the Senate composition determining what policies…
ATO doubles rental deduction audits In the 2017-18 financial year, more than 2.2 million Australians claimed over $47 billion in deductions and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) thinks that is too much – one in ten is estimated to contain errors. 4,500 audits of rental property deductions will be undertaken this year with the focus…
Scammers impersonate ATO phone numbers The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning about the continuation of unprecedented numbers of pre-recorded phone calls experienced last year which impersonate legitimate tax office phone numbers. Assistant Commissioner Gavin Siebert said that scammers have adopted ‘Robocall’ technology to target taxpayers across the country. “Scammers are sending pre-recorded messages in…
Tax Office to double audits of dodgy rental deductions Rental property owners are being warned to ensure their claims are correct this tax time, as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announces it will double the number of audits scrutinising rental deductions. In the 2017–18 financial year, more than 2.2 million Australians claimed over $47 billion in deductions.…