Taxation
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FBT: alternatives to employee declarations
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
No CommentsEmployers that provide certain fringe benefits to their employees can now use appropriate alternative statutory evidentiary documents to satisfy FBT requirements from the FBT year ending 31 March 2025. This has come about with the registration of ATO legislative instruments that specify acceptable record-keeping obligations for certain FBT benefits. These instruments, along with complementary legislation passed in 2023, seek to reduce FBT compliance costs for employers.
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Serious Financial Crime Taskforce targets false invoicing
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Government
The ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) is warning businesses against using illegal financial arrangements such as false invoicing to avoid tax obligations and/or inflate their deductions.
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Reactivating old debts: new guidelines for government agencies
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Government
In response to the ATO’s recent actions on reactivating or offsetting old tax debts, the Commonwealth Ombudsman/ACT Ombudsman and the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) have jointly issued new guidelines aimed at improving how Australians are notified about debts they owe to the government.
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ATO scrutinising novated leases
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
The ATO will once again be running its data matching program on novated leases in 2024, covering the 2023–2024 to 2025–2026 income years. This program first commenced in 2021, collecting data from the 2018–2019 income year.
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Refresher on deductibility of self-education expenses
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
With the return of international conferences for various occupations, the deductibility of expenses such as accommodation, meals and course fees related to self-education will once again come into play at tax time.
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Revised stage 3 tax cuts now law
- 10 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Government
With the revised stage 3 tax cuts now law, it’s a good time to understand how these changes will affect you and how to plan your taxes for the future more effectively. The new rates will apply from 1 July 2024.
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FBT electric vehicle home charging rate
- 7 May 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
With the rise in businesses purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) for the use of their employees, the ATO has finalised its guidelines setting out the methodology for calculating the cost of electricity for FBT purposes when an eligible EV is charged at an employee’s or an individual’s home. T
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Estate planning considerations and Tax
- 14 March 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
Estate planning is a complex area which requires careful consideration of tax implications. Many issues that affect the distribution of assets to beneficiaries will need to be considered before an individual dies, to ensure undesirable tax consequences are avoided for both the individual and their potential beneficiaries. These include the timing on the transfer of the assets, potential gifts, transfer duties and the use of testamentary trusts.
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How much does negative gearing really cost?
- 14 March 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Category: Taxation
Since the government’s announced changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts to give lower income earners more benefits, the chorus of voices advocating for changes to other aspects of the tax system, such as negative gearing, has grown steadily stronger. So how much does negative gearing actually cost the nation each year? The answer to this can be gleaned from the 2023–24 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement (TEIS) which, somewhat confusingly, contains figures relating to the 2020–2021 financial year.
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Proposed changes to stage 3 tax cuts announced
- 8 February 2024
- Posted by: GJ North
- Categories: Government, Taxation
With the government finally caving into pressure to change the stage 3 income tax cuts despite its previous promises to keep the already legislated measures, new proposed tax rates have been flagged to come into place from 1 July 2024, largely – in comparison to the legislated measures – benefiting those earning less than $45,000.