Tax issues for businesses that have received a support payment Taxpayers who have received a government support grant or payment recently to help their business recover from COVID-19 or a natural disaster should check if they need to include the payment in their assessable income. Grants are generally treated as assessable income, and taxpayers may be able to claim deductions if they use these payments to:  purchase replacement trading stock…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Australia’s SMEs outshine global peers in latest Xero report Recent Xero data reveals the ongoing resilience of Australian small businesses despite a deceleration in sales and wages growth. Sales growth remains stronger compared to other XSBI markets. Experts say Australia at 1-in-3 risk of hitting recession next year A…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. LoanOptions.ai crosses the ditch to launch in NZ market A Sydney-headquartered fintech that allows users to apply for loans in under eight minutes is expanding its services with a market entry into New Zealand, following a year of major growth for its Australian operations where the LoanOptions.ai platform has…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Concerns raised as small businesses suffer a spending ‘cold snap’ New data from MYOB reveals that small businesses are experiencing what is called a spending ‘cold snap’ with cash and EFT deposits on a decline since June this year. Atlassian acquires video messaging platform Loom for $1.5b In an…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. ‘No rate cuts’: Horror call on Aussie economy Since the Reserve Bank Australia (RBA) first began raising interest rates in May of last year, the volume of commentary on when they would be cut has become greater with each passing month. With mortgage rates having risen to the largest and fastest…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Australian house prices smash records, fully reversing 2022 lows Home buyers and sellers have expressed confidence in Australia’s housing market, leading to the full reversal of the most rapid decline in house prices in recent history. Five key changes to welfare and work rules in Labor’s employment white paper…  Read more

Taxpayers need to get their ‘rental right’ The ATO reminds rental property owners and their tax agents to take care when lodging their tax returns this tax time.  When preparing their tax returns, taxpayers should make sure all rental income is included, including income from short-term rental arrangements, renting part of a home, and other rental-related income. Rental income must be reported in the year the tenant pays, rather than…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. ATO cracking down on tradies dodging the fringe benefits tax The Australian Tax Office is cracking down on tradies who are wrongly not paying fringe tax benefits for their vehicles. Treasurer Jim Chalmers gets to work on fresh jobs plan The government is set to get to work on…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. The dream of business ownership is drifting out of reach for young Aussies In the past, starting a business was a young person’s golden ticket to financial independence. Today, however, for many young Australians, this dream is drifting out of reach. August unemployment rate remains firm at 3.7% The…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Consumers opt for convenience and money-saving technologies amidst higher cost of living Budget-conscious Australians are redirecting funds towards essential goods and services or savings, and changing their shopping and spending habits in response to cost of living pressures, a new CommBank survey shows. Rethinking taxation for Australia’s future A…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Australia’s inflation rate eased to 4.9% in July, down from 5.4% in June Australia’s inflation rate eased last month to its lowest level in 17 months, led by falling prices for fresh produce and automotive fuel, reducing the likelihood the Reserve Bank will need to raise interest rates again.…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Australia’s nervous watch for any great fall of China Economic troubles in China could hit Australian jobs and growth. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the slump in China’s economy painted a worrying picture. Intergenerational report 2023: six key points for Australian businesses The latest Intergenerational Report has arrived, projecting what the…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. A survival guide for SMEs in the face of inflation Inflation is a challenge for all businesses, but the sting is especially painful for SMEs. With limited resources, they can find themselves struggling to absorb costs associated with inflation, potentially leading them down the path of price increases and…  Read more

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) has held that there were no special circumstances in relation to a taxpayer who made excess concessional contributions in a financial year, such that the ATO could allocate some of those contributions to the previous financial year. On Wednesday, 26 June 2019, the taxpayer arranged for contributions totalling just under $25,000 to be made to his superannuation fund, via a direct debit from his bank…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Australia lags US in beating inflation Australia is lagging considerably behind the United States in combating inflation, with recent data showing a vast disparity between the two nations. ASIC accuses $13.6b Active Super of greenwashing its investments in gambling and coal The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has…  Read more

The downsizer contribution concession was introduced to allow older Australians selling an eligible dwelling to make additional contributions into their superannuation fund. Broadly, the downsizer contribution concession allows eligible individuals to make non-deductible contributions of up to $300,000 (or up to $600,000 per couple) from the sale of an eligible dwelling that was used as their main residence. The downsizer contribution concession is an attractive option for eligible individuals to…  Read more

Taxpayers who are small business owners operating from home, or who use a vehicle for business purposes, need to be aware of some changes when claiming deductions this tax time, including the following. Cents-per-kilometre method – The cents-per-kilometre method for claiming car expenses increased from 72 cents to 78 cents per kilometre in the 2023 income year.  For taxpayers using this method, the 78 cents per kilometre rate covers all…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Stoking the engine room of the Australian economy The nation’s fleet of small to medium-sized businesses boosting economic growth has been one constant amid the technological and demographic transformation of the Australian economy. Enabling them to be more successful is the focus of ANZ’s new Group Executive, Australia Commercial Clare…  Read more

Lodging of Taxable payments annual reports The ATO reminds taxpayers that it is now time for them to check if their business needs to lodge a Taxable payments annual report (‘TPAR’) for payments made to contractors providing the following services: (a)     building and construction; (b)     cleaning; (c)     courier and road freight; (d)     information technology; and (e)     security, investigation or surveillance. TPARs are due on 28 August…  Read more

Claiming GST credits for employee expense reimbursements Employers may be entitled to claim GST input tax credits for payments they have made to reimburse employees for expenses that are directly related to their business activities. A ‘reimbursement’ is provided when a taxpayer pays their employee the amount, or part of the amount, of a particular work-related purchase they make. Employers are not entitled to a GST input tax credit if…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Another 1.3 billion consumers will shop online by 2027 Online retailers should be gearing up for the addition of a further 1.3 billion consumers worldwide joining the ranks of online shoppers by 2027, says market research firm Juniper Research. Not fair on consumers, not good for business’: Financial complaints…  Read more