Category: Taxation
JobKeeper amendments
There have been some changes made to JobKeeper since our last newsletter. Businesses will need to meet one of the decline in turnover tests for the September 2020 quarter alone (rather than for both the June and September quarters as announced in July) to be eligible for JobKeeper for the period 28 September 2020 to...
COVID-19 payments and some issues for companies and trusts
With many having received cash flow boost and JobKeeper payments, there can arise some unique issues where these amounts are received within a trust or company. The cash flow boost and JobKeeper payment have been flowing to eligible businesses for some time now. These stimulus payments have differing tax treatments, which are: the cash flow...
Claiming a deduction for transport expenses when carrying bulky equipment
As a general rule, expenses relating to travel between home and work (and vice versa) are non-deductible. A numberof exceptions to this principle exist, including for situations that require bulky equipment be transported to and fromwork. In order for transport expenses to be deductible under this “bulky equipment” exception, it is usually necessarythat all of...
Rental property: Tax approach adjusts for COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed property owners, and tenants in many cases, in unfamiliar territory. Many tenants have been paying reduced rent or ceased paying because their income has been adversely affected. While rental income may be reduced, owners will continue to incur normal expenses on their rental property and will still be able to...
Bonus Article, Indexation of tax instalments suspended for 2020-21
More support for taxpayers in the face of the COVID-19 health crisis has just been announced in the form of a suspension of the indexation of tax instalments for the 2020-21 income year. Both income tax (PAYG) and GST instalments are included, which the government says affects 2.2 million and 81,000 taxpayers respectively. Indexation, using...
Tax return tips
Despite the current COVID-19 world in which we live, the procedures for completing and lodging tax returns remains pretty much the same. So, before we sit down with you to go over your tax return, certain information will be needed. Of course these days pre-filling takes care of a lot of the “paperwork”, and if...
Instant asset write off extended to 31 December
Note that the boost to the instant asset write off rules that the government put in place to help stimulate the Australian economy in the face of the COVID-19 crisis has been extended to the end of this year. Businesses with a turnover of up to $500 million a year will be allowed to continue...
Varying PAYG instalments because of COVID-19
PAYG instalments is a system that helps you manage your expected tax liability on income from your business or investments for the current income year by making smaller regular payments. To assist taxpayers experiencing financial difficulty as a result of COVID-19, the ATO is providing added flexibility to manage your instalments to suit your circumstances....
COVID-19 corporate residency concession
The ATO has announced an important tax residency concession for foreign incorporated companies during the COVID-19 crisis. BackgroundOn 24 March 2020, the government announced a ban on Australians travelling overseas, using powers given to it under the Biosecurity Act 2015. The ban is aimed at preventing travellers returning to Australia with COVID-19. There are limited...
Laws on bankruptcy changed temporarily to help cope with COVID-19
The government has temporarily changed bankruptcy law to help protect people who are facing unmanageable debt as a result of the economic impacts of COVID-19. If you are in financial difficulty, application can be made for temporary debt protection, which prevents recovery action by unsecured creditors, for six months. The threshold of debt that can...