Tax incentives may be available to investors that are considering putting their money into qualifying start-up businesses. Eligible businesses are defined by the ATO as early-stage innovation companies (ESICs). The two key tax incentives for eligible early-stage investors, also known as ‘angel investors’, who purchase new shares in an ESIC are: Non-refundable carry forward tax…
The ATO has released an Impersonation Scam Report for the month of February 2019. Highlighted are the various ways in which scammers have attempted to contact people, posing as the ATO. The most common method of contact was by phone calls or messages, accounting for 97% of reported scams over the month. Reports of 9,342…
In an ongoing effort to address the misuse and abuse of the tax and regulatory systems, the ATO has implemented a new tool to monitor what constitutes reasonable personal living expenses. Information is requested by the tax office to identify unreported cash income when looking at household expenditure. An individual will be required to provide…
The ATO has increased fuel tax credit rates from 4 February 2019. As fuel tax credit rates are updated regularly, it is important to check the rates each time you lodge a business activity statement (BAS). Fuel tax credits provide businesses with a credit for the price of fuel used in machinery, plants, equipment, heavy…
Lodging a business activity statement (BAS) is something all business owners will be familiar with, however, mistakes can still be made. You must ensure that you have reported carefully and correctly to avoid incurring a penalty. In the event an error has been made in the reporting of your activity statements, here is what you…
The ATO has seen a number of common errors made on forms submitted by property purchasers since changes were made to the way GST is collected at settlement in July 2018. Property settlement forms:In the case of a withholding obligation, those purchasing new residential premises or potential residential land are required to submit both of…
The Personal Income Tax Plan has gone through recent changes regarding rates, thresholds and offset entitlements. These changes were announced in the 2018-2019 Federal Budget and were implemented at the start of the 2019 financial year. For the upcoming tax season, individuals should review these changes in case they are affected. The 32.5% tax bracket…
New penalties for business’s pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding and reporting obligations are to be introduced as a result of legislation commencing 1 July 2019. The law will now prevent businesses from claiming deductions for payments to employees and certain contractors if they fail to comply. Payments that are impacted include salary, wages, commissions, bonuses or allowances…
The goods and services tax (GST) is applied to most goods and services sold in Australia, taxed at a rate of 10%. If you run a business, you are likely to have GST obligations such as claiming credit for any GST included in the price of goods and services that have been purchased for your…
The ATO small business benchmark guides are designed to help small businesses compare performance with similar companies in the same industry. These guides have been updated to include data from the 2016-2017 financial year. Within this system, there are two benchmarks businesses can use. Performance benchmarks apply to all industries and businesses. This area consists…