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Exceptional circumstances interest rate subsidy scheme The New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority is currently administering the Exceptional Circumstances Interest Rate Subsidy Scheme in NSW. This scheme provides interest subsidy assistance to eligible farmers, and farmer-reliant small businesses, suffering from financial hardship as a result of the current drought. The authority has set out the assessment criteria for both primary producers and small business on its website. You will also find useful information about the purpose of the support scheme, types of support available and how to apply. For further information visit the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority. 30th Jan, 2008 Crackdown on Super The ATO is cracking down on employers who fail to make the required superannuation contributions for their employees. The Tax Office has begun auditing around 22,000 businesses - mostly small - to ascertain whether they are making the correct, timely SGC contributions. The ATO can issue a default assessment if the auditor decides that insufficient superannuation contributions have been made for any employees. If this happens, the employer is not able to include the additional SGC contributions as a tax deduction. The ATO will calculate the shortfall, and a nominal interest and administration charge is applied to all SGC assessments with an extra " failure to notify" penalty being added where the assessment arises from the ATO audit rather than a voluntary disclosure. As an employer you are required to make superannuation guarantee contributions on behalf of your eligible employees at least once each quarter. Contributions are due by: 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July each year. You now need to:
If you don't make your superannuation contributions by the cut off dates you will face penalties. You may also face penalties if you don't report details to your employees. NSW Land Tax Threshold - 2007 tax year The way the land tax threshold is calculated in NSW has changed. For the 2007 and future land tax years the land tax threshold will be averaged. The threshold will be the average of the 'indexed amount' for the new tax year and the previous two land tax years, as calculated annually by the Valuer General. The threshold cannot fall below that of the previous year and where the average threshold is less than the previous year's threshold, the previous year's threshold will continue to apply. The average threshold for the last three years is calculated as follows:
As the average threshold ($350,000) is below the land tax threshold for 2006 ($352,000), the previous year's threshold of $352,000 will continue to apply for the 2007 land tax year. Record Keeping Postponement WorkChoices introduced substantial new record keeping obligations on employers covered under the federal workplace relations system. To allow employers time to make the necessary adjustments to the new Regulations a transition period was put in place until 26 September 2006, during which time the Australian Government would not prosecute employers for non compliance. That transition period has been extended to 26 March 2007. Previously employers were obliged to keep time and wage records for employees whose minimum terms and conditions were regulated by industrial awards or agreements. These new requirements extend similar obligations to non-award employees including in some instances potentially senior personnel. The record keeping requirements are onerous and detailed and it may be necessary for employers to adjust their payroll systems and current record keeping requirements to ensure compliance with the new laws. Speak to us to day about how we can help you ensure that your systems are up to date. Crackdown on Super The ATO is cracking down on employers who fail to make the required superannuation contributions for their employees. The Tax Office has begun auditing around 22,000 businesses - mostly small - to ascertain whether they are making the correct, timely SGC contributions. The ATO can issue a default assessment if the auditor decides that insufficient superannuation contributions have been made for any employees. If this happens, the employer is not able to include the additional SGC contributions as a tax deduction. The ATO will calculate the shortfall, and a nominal interest and administration charge is applied to all SGC assessments with an extra " failure to notify" penalty being added where the assessment arises from the ATO audit rather than a voluntary disclosure. As an employer you are required to make superannuation guarantee contributions on behalf of your eligible employees at least once each quarter. Contributions are due by: 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July each year. You now need to:
If you don't make your superannuation contributions by the cut off dates you will face penalties. You may also face penalties if you don't report details to your employees. Carrying on a Business From Home The Tax Office has recently released a guide for taxpayers who carry on a business from their home. The guide discusses the taxpayer's obligations and other issues that need to be considered when operating a business from home. Some of these issues include:
The full guide is available on the ATO's website at: www.ato.gov.au/print.asp?doc=/content/43191.htm New services Thompsons Australia has expanded its business to now include a separate bookkeeping service - Beancounter Australia. On 1 July 2006 Thompsons Australia became the official owner of Beancounter Australia, an excellent accounting support service in Darwin. Whilst we keep this running efficiently we have opened a second office of this business in Sydney and this will operate from our Thompsons Australia offices in Hurstville. We will use all of the systems and procedures that have been built upon within Beancounter Australia since is inception. It is extremely well known within the Darwin business circles, and recognised for providing excellent service and support. Beancounter Australia has many great services and features that we can now offer - these include:
Please phone Beancounter Australia on 61 2 9579 3900 for more information or visit our website at www.beancounter123.com 10th July, 2006 On July 1 2006 we also opened a new office of Thompsons Australia in Darwin. This is an exciting time for our practice and our clients. This new office will mean that we will have greater depth of experience and knowledge from which to draw when servicing our clients. Our services in Darwin will include supporting businesses that service markets in the top end, as well as business that use Darwin as a base for export activities into Asia. To compliment this we will also offer setup and business support services for interstate businesses expanding into the top end. Our office details in Darwin are: Thompsons Australia Phone: 61 8 89819050 10th July, 2006 Update on Superannuation Changes The government has announced further changes to superannuation, since the budget announcement in May. To help ensure that transition to the new system is easier, the government has allowed for the following:
Should you need any help or advice on how these changes will affect you then please call us on 61 2 9579 3600 and we can help you develop a plan to leverage these changes. 10th Oct, 2006 |
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