Following the enactment of legislation in late 2019, the ATO can disclose certain business tax debt (ATO debt) information to external credit reporting bureaus. This information will primarily be used when issuing external creditworthiness reports in relation to relevant businesses, effectively treating tax debts in a similar manner to other business debts. The purpose of allowing the ATO to report ATO debt is to: encourage businesses to engage with the…  Read more

 Treasury has released its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (‘MYEFO’) for 2019/20 forecasting a surplus of approximately $5 billion.   Proposed new record-keeping course One new tax-related measure of note in the MYEFO was the announcement the ATO would be provided with a new discretion to direct taxpayers (found to be lacking in their substantiation efforts under audit) to undertake an approved record-keeping course, instead of applying financial penalties. This…  Read more

Victorian government has announced tax relief for people and local businesses that have been affected by the recent bushfires. The tax relief measures include the following:   Land tax relief on properties that have been affected by bushfires or are used to provide free accommodation for people displaced by bushfires. Land transfer duty (stamp duty) relief for people who need to replace homes destroyed by bushfires. Reduced land transfer duty (stamp duty) on purchases of…  Read more

After spending 7 years working in Michelin star restaurants in France, Dan Arnold has returned to his home, Brisbane, to open his first restaurant – Restaurant Dan Arnold. Let’s just say that he returned with so much experience and his food speaks for itself. Dan arrived in France in 2010, worked at 3 Michelin star restaurant l’Espérance, and after was sous-chef of Serge Vieira, Bocuse d’Or 2005 and Two Michelin…  Read more

Did you come back to work and realised you have issues with Xero payroll? Well, there’s nothing wrong with the actual Xero payroll, but the ATO rules around salary sacrifice and superannuation have changed from 1 January 2020. Legislation changes from 1 January 2020 and how will Xero payroll cope From 1 January 2020, salary sacrificed super contributions can’t be used to reduce your super guarantee obligations, regardless of the amount…  Read more

Whilst generally SMSF cannot acquire assets from related parties, there are some exceptions. SMSF can buy property from yourself, but strict rules apply: It must be a business real (commercial) property. The property must be used wholly and exclusively in one or more businesses (not necessarily in your business). Being zone for business use is not enough. The property must be transferred at market value. If your SMSF pays less…  Read more

Can your SMSF borrow? The technical answer is no, however, since 2007 they are allowed to enter into limited recourse borrowing arrangements. If done right, and if you considered your investment strategy, the risks that come with borrowing, the sole purpose of your fund, then they can really help you get ahead. You should always start with reading your deed and considering what you are trying to achieve. Just because…  Read more

We are so proud of these guys and so happy to have seen them at their Xerocon stand! This is what they have been up to – https://workguru.io/. WorkGuru are a project, asset, and inventory management tool, designed as a lightweight ERP for the Xero ecosystem. WHY ARE THEY DIFFERENT WorkGuru was built by the founders of The Rype Group, who have been Cloud Integrators with Xero, since before the…  Read more

That’s right! Another tax year is upon us! While we may lodge your return and you may get a nice refund early on, keep in mind that your superfund does not send data to the ATO until later. That means, that if your income is over $250,000 and your employer contributed to your super, your assessment will be amended to include Division 293 and you may be asked to return…  Read more

GST withholding… The ATO has noticed some common errors made in activity statements since the introduction of “GST at settlement” on 1 July 2018.  These new laws require purchasers to withhold GST on settlement (and pay it to the ATO directly) generally when buying ‘new residential premises’ from developers. In particular, the new “GST at settlement” law does not affect a supplier’s obligation to lodge their activity statement and report…  Read more

ATO Assistant Commissioner Peter Holt has announced that, in the 2019/20 financial year, the ATO will be visiting a further 10,000 small businesses across the country, including up to 500 small businesses in Tasmania. He further said that businesses that advertise as ‘cash only’ and businesses that are operating outside of the ATO’s performance benchmarks for their industry will be especially targeted for a visit from the ATO. “Businesses that…  Read more

Hopefully all of you know about the changes that happened last year, in April 2018. It is now though, 12 months later that you need to look back and ensure that you comply with the Fair Work and Real Estate Industry Awards and that your staff that have been on commission only, can continue to do so. What were the changes introduced? New broad-band classification structure The old job titles…  Read more

We were so excited when Nitha, one of our favourite clients and the one with a successful recruitment business, decided to setup another business purely focusing on amazing mums returning to workforce. This is what she has to say about her WHY: “Our goal is to give mums a helping hand back into the workplace through flexible work arrangements with employers who support mums. Our employers understand how challenging it…  Read more

Just when you thought you got through the tax hurdle, it hits you… Div293 notices… They are never pretty, they are never easy to explain to clients, the Government keeps changing the thresholds and the tax office keeps changing the means of payments… Let’s just say, they are painful no matter how you look at them… and at the end of the day, you just feel like they are trying…  Read more

Website address: http://langleygroup.com.au/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelangleygroup The Langley Group is a leading consulting and people development company. They work with organisations around the world to build better leaders, engage people, optimise performance and leverage talent. Their services include: Consulting and capability building Thought leadership Inhouse programmes Keynotes and masterclasses Workshops and skill-bites Coaching Assessment Inhouse accreditation Train the trainer They apply positive psychology, emotional intelligence and neuroscience to get the best…  Read more

For over 30 years Apromo has been supplying quality European patisserie ingredients, Belgian couverture, semi-finished products, gourmet foods and frozen Danish and desserts – to chocolatiers, patisseries, restaurants, hotels, bakeries, and caterers. That’s right, Apromo Trading has been operating in Sydney since 1987! That just proves that we all love chocolate! Their core business is twofold:  To supply high quality European ingredients and semi-finished products to Australia’s leading chocolate manufacturers,…  Read more

Have you moved between the jobs? Chances are that you have several superannuation accounts and don’t know what you should do about it… or in fact, you haven’t given it a second thought…there is also a very good chance, you have lost super that you are no longer aware of… The thing is, the more superannuation accounts (funds) you have, the more sets of fees you pay. Paying these additional…  Read more

What is Division 293 tax? Division 293 tax is the tax paid by high income individuals. It reduces the super tax concession they receive. Since 1 July 2012, high income earners are generally liable to pay Division 293 tax if their income for surcharge purposes (disregarding their reportable super contributions) and their low-tax contributions are greater than $300,000. This is to reduce the tax concession received on concessional contributions from 30%…  Read more

Whether you are running a current business or looking to start up a new company, it is important that you have enough stock on hand to meet your consumer’s needs. However, investing all of your money in inventory drains your working capital and prevents that money being used elsewhere in the business. Accurate forecasts are vital when it comes to maintaining and replenishing inventories, and it is necessary for a…  Read more

You can currently transfer the ownership of some types of property directly into your Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF). They are: Business real property (used exclusively for the running of a business), for example a warehouse you conduct your business from; Listed securities (such as shares in companies listed on the stock exchange); In-house assets, for example an investment in a related party – provided that the market value of…  Read more