Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

ATO reminds Australians about changes this tax season

The Australian Tax Office anticipates that many will continue to be impacted by COVID-19, and is offering support to get your taxes right the first time. A summary can be found here.

Cash rate expected to rise this week

The official rate is expected to reach 0.6% or 0.75% – another rise in variable interest rates for homeowners and businesses

Labor calls for wage increase

The submission was made to the Fair Work Commission on Friday, with an aim to assist minimum wage workers, who the party views as “heroes of the pandemic.”

Biden brushes off Musk’s comments

The American President touted the country’s strong jobs report, and wished the Tesla CEO “lots of luck on his trip to the moon,” when questioned about Musk’s recent comments about having a “super bad feeling” about the economy.

Iceberg lettuce $12 a head in Queensland

Floods, the pandemic and fertiliser shortages put increasing pressure on suppliers, with no immediate relief in sight.

Crypto is complicated at tax time

Cryptocurrency owners have been warned to start working out what they owe in anticipation of the upcoming tax season. Lessons come from the US, where their recent tax season saw some people owing more than what they earned after the recent crypto crash.

Food producers warn gas prices will be passed to consumer

Jason Fritsch, the chief executive of Kagome, stated that with gas prices out of control and raw materials prices on the rise, it’s only a matter of time before consumers see even higher prices at the grocery store.

Australians are staying home with more colds and flu this season

As winter approaches, workplace absences due to colds and flu were up 50% for the first two weeks of May. The drastic increase is due to a “perfect storm” of circulating winter illnesses and a lack of immunity due to the population not being exposed to the flu in recent years.

Job vacancies grow nearly 25% in regional Australia

The latest data from the Regional Australia Institute shows that there were 84,600 regional job vacancies in April 2022. The numbers reveal the optimism that is driving growth outside capital cities, though a lack of services and housing constrain opportunities.

ATO issues reminder to small business owners about changes to superannuation

Starting July 1, there are changes to who is eligible for superannuation, as well as how much super businesses will need to pay staff.

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