Why the Government does not want your business accepting cash payments of $10,000 or more From 1 January 2020, the Government intends to restrict the value of cash payments a business makes or accepts to amounts under $10,000. Ignoring the limit will become a criminal offence with penalties of up to 2 years in prison…
‘Proof of life’ certificates required for overseas pensioners One of the stranger pieces of legislation to be introduced into Parliament last month is an attempt to ensure that overseas welfare recipients over the age of 80 are in fact, alive. There are approximately 96,000 people permanently living overseas who currently receive an Australian social security…
By 30 June 2019, five major financial institutions paid $119.7 million in compensation for poor financial advice to 6,318 customers. The question is, how are these payments treated for tax purposes? The tax treatment varies according to why the compensation was paid and who the payment was made to. Compensation payments are made for a…
Effectiveness of tip-off line has led ATO to dub it “crime stoppers” for tax Tip-offs to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have reached an all-time high with close to 60,000 tip-offs received between June and May 2019 – almost double the number of the previous year. The ATO thinks the number of tip-offs will reach…
Would you claim the Lego you bought for your kids throughout the year as a tax deduction? One taxpayer did and it made the Australian Taxation Office’s 2018-19 list of most unusual claims. The Lego was not the only claim for money spent on kids. Another taxpayer claimed their children’s sports equipment and sporting membership…
Recent case highlights some of the trust tax problems that can occur It’s not uncommon for people to put assets such as their family home into a trust, particularly professionals working in litigious fields or family groups wanting to protect assets. The taxpayer, in this case, had become the owner of their main residence as…
Client Alert – Protecting your super reforms from 1 July 2019 To protect the super balances of all Australians being eroded by unnecessary fees and costs, the Federal Government has introduced the “Protecting Your Super” reforms which passed parliament on 18 February 2019. This new legislation will apply from 1 July 2019. It includes cancelling insurance for inactive members,…
The ATO is airing the ‘dirty laundry’ on work-related clothing and laundry expenses warning that it is closely reviewing claims Last year around 6 million people claimed work-related clothing and laundry expenses, with total claims adding up to nearly $1.8 billion. “While many of these claims will be legitimate, we don’t think that half of…
What are you really entitled to? The recent income tax cuts that passed through Parliament do not mean everyone automatically gets $1,080 back from the Government as soon as they lodge their income tax return. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been inundated with calls from taxpayers wanting to know where their money is and…
The ATO has provided a concession from single touch payroll for payments by small employers to closely held payees. Single touch payroll (STP) was extended to cover all employers on 1 July 2019. For directors of their own company or for family businesses employing family members, there are some practical problems with STP – sometimes…