19
NovOver the last few income years, the ATO has seen some instances of SMSF trustees losing their crypto asset investments. These losses have been caused by: 1. crypto scams, where trustees were conned into investing their superannuation benefits in a fake crypto exchange; 2. theft, where fraudsters would hack into trustees’ crypto accounts and steal all their crypto; 3. collapsed crypto trading platforms, many of which were based overseas; and 4. lost passwords, resulting in trustees being locked out of their crypto account and being unable to access their crypto. Trustees thinking of investing in crypto need to be aware of the ways that crypto can be lost, including through scams, and how these scams can be avoided. Many crypto […]
23
AugWhen reimbursing employees, employers may be entitled to claim GST input tax credits for the 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 they pay their employee an allowance, or make a payment based on a national expense, such as a cents-per-kilometer payment, travel or meal allowance. An “allowance” is provided when a taxpayer pays their employee an amount for an estimated expense without requiring them to repay any excess. Taxpayers are expected to hold sufficient evidence to substantiate their claim, such as a[…]
28
JulThe Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, handed down his Federal Budget for the new financial year on Tuesday, 9 May 2023. Read on to about how to find out how this could affect your next tax return. Mr Chalmers walked away from the large, blanket tax cutting initiatives of the last Liberal government, such as Temporary Full Expensing (which applied to virtually all businesses) and the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (which applied to all individual taxpayers with an income of less than $126,000), and instead focused on help which is more targeted and less generous. While the initiatives are likely to be welcomed by those taxpayers who are the target of the tax breaks, they will pass by many, if not most, taxpayers[…]
10
MayIf your business is insolvent or struggling to pay its debts, it’s important to seek specialist advice from a qualified and registered insolvency practitioner as soon as you can. Be wary of inappropriate insolvency advice that could lead to illegal phoenix activity. Insolvency advice to watch out for Registered liquidators and trustees will provide you with sound insolvency advice that you can rely on. But some insolvency or pre-insolvency advisers suggest actions designed to help directors avoid paying their creditors and create new companies to continue on without debts. This is illegal phoenix activity and can result in serious penalties. Following this advice could put you at risk of a fine, criminal conviction or even a jail term. Be wary if an[…]
10
MayASIC has acted against a further 11 self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors for breaches of their obligations. This included breaches of auditing and assurance standards, independence requirements, registration conditions, or because ASIC was satisfied the individual was not a fit and proper person to remain registered. Over the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, ASIC: Ten of these SMSF auditors were referred to ASIC by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). One SMSF auditor did not comply with conditions imposed by ASIC on their SMSF auditor registration. This follows the cancellation of 374 SMSF auditors in January 2023 (23-012MR). ASIC Commissioner Danielle Press said, ‘SMSF auditors play an essential role in supporting confidence in the SMSF sector. To protect[…]
06
AprBefore 1 July 2022, an individual taxpayer that incurred additional deductible expenses as a result of working from home, had a choice of three methods to claim these expenses. These choices were: From 1 July 2022, as a result of the release of PCG 2023/1 by the ATO, the shortcut method and the fixed-rate method have been abolished. A replacement method that can be used instead of the actual expenses method (which has not been abolished) is the revised fixed-rate method. Under the revised fixed-rate method, a deduction can be claimed of 67 cents per hour for energy expenses (electricity and gas), internet expenses, mobile and home phone expenses, and stationery and computer consumables. Other expenses associated with working from home,[…]
03
AprA reminder to employers that their December 2022 superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) contributions were due by 28 January 2023. Do not forget the two changes to SG that commenced on 1 July 2022: lthe rate increased from 10% to 10.5%; employees no longer need to earn $450 per month to be eligible. Employers now need to make super contributions for all eligible employees, regardless of how much they were paid – their earnings amount is not relevant. However, employees who are under 18 still need to work more than 30 hours in a week to be eligible. The ATO has the SG eligibility tool to work out if an employer has to pay super for its employees. If an employer does[…]
