The Paid Parental Leave (‘PPL’) scheme has been amended to enable expectant parents whose work has been affected by COVID-19 lockdowns to access Parental Leave Pay or Dad and Partner Pay under the scheme. Many people who would otherwise have qualified for PPL, may no longer meet the ‘work test’ condition to be eligible for … Read more
The ATO is providing additional support to taxpayers having difficulty meeting their tax and superannuation guarantee charge obligations for employees because of COVID-19. Available support includes the following: Lodgment or payment support options – for example, payment plans or remitting interest and penalties. Varying PAYG instalments – The ATO will not apply penalties or charge … Read more
Editor: The ATO is currently reviewing certain arrangements where Australian taxpayers seek to disguise undeclared foreign income as a gift or loan. Genuine gifts or loans received from related overseas entities (including family members and friends) are sometimes used to fund businesses or to acquire income producing assets. In this context, a genuine gift or … Read more
With the growth of micro-investment platforms helping new investors enter the market, the ATO has issued a reminder for first-time share and Exchange Traded Funds (‘ETF’) investors. The ATO is concerned that first-time investors often do not understand their tax obligations in relation to reporting capital gains from the sale of shares and income in … Read more
As part of the expansion of Single Touch Payroll (known as STP Phase 2), from 1 January 2022, employers will need to report additional payroll information in their STP reports including: disaggregation of gross amounts (including separate reporting of paid leave, allowances, overtime, directors’ fees and salary sacrifice amounts); employment and taxation conditions (including information … Read more
Employers may soon need to do something extra when a new employee starts to work for them. Currently, if a new employee does not choose their own fund, their employer can pay contributions for them to a default fund. From 1 November 2021, if a new employee does not choose a specific fund, their employer … Read more
The ALP has formally announced that, if elected to Government, they will deliver “the same legislated tax relief . . . as the Morrison Government”. This means they have committed to upholding the legislated changes to personal income taxes, and will also maintain the existing regimes for negative gearing and capital gains tax to provide … Read more
The ATO has released a Ruling explaining: when an employee can deduct accommodation and food and drink expenses when travelling on work; the FBT implications, including the application of the ‘otherwise deductible rule’, where an employee is reimbursed for accommodation and food and drink expenses, or where the employer provides or pays for these expenses; … Read more
The ATO has recently issued approximately 30,000 Division 293 assessments for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years. Editor: Division 293 tax is an additional tax on super contributions, which reduces the tax concession for individuals whose combined income and contributions are greater than the Division 293 threshold (currently $250,000). Due to a system issue, concessional … Read more