The ATO has been charged with running the JobKeeper Payment scheme, which is intended to support businesses that are financially affected by COVID-19 to help keep their staff employed. Employers will be required to pay their eligible employees a minimum of $1,500 a fortnight, before tax, to claim the JobKeeper payment. This is then paid...

There are many questions being asked lately about claiming expenses when forced to work from home over the COVID-19 period – plus a lot of concern about any consequent capital gains issues when later selling a property from which people have been coerced to work from during this time. Capital gains First of all, the...

It has been a long time coming, but a planned government amnesty for employers who have missed paying the superannuation guarantee (SG) to their employees has now become law. The amnesty was passed on 6 March 2020, and lasts until 7 September 2020. The amnesty allows employers to make deductible payments, without penalties, of outstanding...

Entering into a remuneration package to secure a vehicle through a salary sacrifice arrangement is a popular option offered to employees. However the ATO has issued a ruling on another particular set of wheels that opens up both a tax and health incentive. ATO guidance covering the use of an electric bicycle (e-bike*) by an...

Legal changes just passed by Parliament require mortgage brokers to act in the best interests of consumers when providing consumer credit assistance or face much stronger penalties. These changes also reform mortgage broker remuneration by requiring the value of upfront commissions to be linked to the amount drawn down by borrowers instead of the loan...

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2019 received assent on 17 February 2020. The legislation includes a range of measures targeting illegal phoenixing including penalties for directors related to GST liabilities (making directors personally liable for unpaid GST if the unpaid liability is not paid within 21 days of a director penalty notice...

If an Australian resident is considering selling property, they should apply for an ATO clearance certificate. If a property vendor does not apply for a clearance certificate and present it to the purchaser, the purchaser is required to withhold 12.5% of the purchase price for CGT purposes on properties that have a market value of...

What happens if your property is damaged from the results of a natural disaster, or by tenants? Such a situation can affect the types of expenses you claim and the income you need to declare for your rental property. Declaring income If you receive a payout for damage to your rental property as a result...

If you own a marine vessel, perhaps a thoroughbred horse or two, have a piece of fine art hanging on a wall, high value motor vehicles in the garage or an aircraft in the shed, it could be time to make sure your tax affairs are in order. The ATO announced in the latter part...

The ATO has announced that from February it is intending to contact a selection of business taxpayers that provide car parking benefits to their employees, and that use the market value method to arrive at a taxable value, to ensure these values have been calculated correctly. There are five ways that an employer can calculate...