Category: Small Business
Business trading structures: What’s best for your business?
When you have plans for starting a new business, one of the central decisions is which business trading structure will work best for your venture. The general problem however can be that there are both pros and cons with the main options available, so considerations need to be given with regard to the overall situation...
Penalty interest can be deductible, under specific conditions
A new ruling has been released by the ATO on the deductibility or otherwise of “penalty interest”. The term penalty interest refers to an amount payable by a borrower under a loan agreement when the lender agrees to an early repayment of a loan. The amount payable is commonly calculated by reference to the number...
Bonus Article, FBT returns, employee declarations, and a looming deadline
An employee declaration is written advice given to an employer by their employee containing information relating to the fringe benefits staff have received. A business needs to keep employee declarations to apply certain fringe benefit tax (FBT) concessions. They are not to be sent to the ATO, but retained as part of business records. The...
ATO actions on trusts and tax avoidance
The ATO says that it recognises that most trusts are used appropriately and for legitimate purposes. It says it will continue to help those who make genuine mistakes or are uncertain about how the law applies to their circumstances. But even so, the ATO has a number of “trust risk rules” in place to identify...
Essentials on taxable payments annual reports
Operators in some Australian industries as well as select government entities are required by the ATO to lodge a taxable payments annual report (TPAR). The information provided in these reports provides the ATO with the information that allows it to identify contractors who have: not included all their income on their tax return not lodged...
Bonus Article, FBT’s hot issues targeted by the ATO
If you are an employer, you may appreciate knowing what the ATO is looking out for, and the fringe benefits you’re expected to report, so you can avoid attracting its attention or making costly mistakes. In this year’s updated ATO list for taxpayers, titled “What attracts our attention”, there are six items that specifically relate...
Instant asset write-off – Amendment to April Newsletter
In last month’s article about working from home, mention was made of the small business instant asset write-off. However this was written before the Federal Budget, which made changes to the write-off. The small business instant asset write-off threshold has now been increased to $30,000. It has also been extended to cover medium sized businesses...
What you need to know about the beefed-up director penalty regime
Being a director of a company, as with any elevation of status, is a role that also brings with it added responsibilities and duties. Company directors need to keep in mind that the Corporations Act holds directors personally liable for many of the legal and financial obligations expected from a company. These include, but are...
Alternatives to a tax invoice for certain GST credit claims
Tax invoices are an essential element of Australia’s taxation system, and serve both to collect taxation revenue related to the goods and services on which GST is levied as well as record the credits that are claimable by eligible businesses. A business registered for GST will generally be required to hold a tax invoice for...
Staff training costs deductible, but beware FBT
One of the recognised keys to business success is having knowledgeable, efficient and well-trained staff. But it is not always possible (or is indeed rare) to have potential staff walk in off the street who are a 100% perfect fit. People employed at any business will naturally benefit, to a lesser or greater degree, from...