To protect older Australians, the Government has moved to formalise ‘granny flat arrangements’ by providing an incentive to protect all parties in the arrangement.
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Super Retail Group - owner of the Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF and Macpac brands - handed back $1.7 million in JobKeeper payments in January after releasing a trading update showing sales growth of 23% to December 2020. Toyota announced that it will return $18 million in JobKeeper payments after a record fourth quarter. And, Domino’s Pizza has also handed back $792,000 of JobKeeper payments.
Fringe benefits tax (FBT) is one of Australia’s most disliked taxes because it’s cumbersome and generates a lot of paperwork. The COVID-19 lockdowns have added another layer of complexity as many work patterns and behaviours changed.
The Victorian State Government’s 2020 Budget has delivered an unprecedented infrastructure investment to drive the State’s recovery, with its centerpiece an ambitious jobs plan aimed at creating 400,000 jobs by 2025, half of them by 2022.
At the recent Senate Estimates hearing, Jeremy Hirschhorn, the ATO’s Second Commissioner, stated that $120 million in JobKeeper payments had been clawed back from those either deliberately seeking to rort the system or who had made reckless mistakes
If your company has made a loss, you may be able to claim a tax refund for tax previously paid on profits.
Stimulating investment is high on the Government’s agenda. To encourage spending, the 2020-21 Budget introduced a measure that allows businesses with turnover under $5bn* to immediately deduct the cost of new depreciable assets and the cost of improvements to existing assets in the first year of use. This means that an asset’s cost will be fully deductible in the year it’s installed ready for use, rather than being claimed over the asset’s life. And, there is no cap on the cost of the asset.
JobMaker is a credit available to eligible businesses for hiring additional employees (not if you are merely replacing someone who left). The hiring credit is available for jobs created from 7 October 2020 until 6 October 2021.
On 6 October 2020 Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered the Federal Budget for the 2020-2021 income year.
It is fair to say it will be remembered as Australia’s biggest spending budget with a forecast deficit of $214 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.
Due to Stage 4 restrictions, we will all be working from home as of tomorrow - Thursday 6 August 2020.
Please rest assured we can still be contacted on our normal office number and email addresses. If you are unsure of who to email please email info@lmp.com.au or contact your regular team member.
What you need to know about JobSeeker and other support.
The second tranche of the JobKeeper scheme changes the eligibility test for employers and the method and amount paid to employees.
The Government has announced the $2.5bn JobTrainer package to retrain, upskill and open new job opportunities.
Two major Australian Taxation Office (ATO) initiatives are searching out fraud and schemes designed to take advantage of the Government’s Coronavirus Economic Response Package.
From 1 July 2020, parents accessing the Government’s parental leave pay (PPL) scheme will have greater flexibility and options.
Targeting the self-employed and small business owners, the changes introduce a new flexible paid parental leave pay period of 30 days.
Previously, new parents could apply for PPL for a continuous block of up to 18 weeks. The changes split this time period into two:
A continuous period of up to 12 weeks, and
30 flexible days.
Parents can take the 18 weeks in one block or, under the new rules, take the 12 week period and then use the additional 30 days at a period and in a way that suits them but before the child turns 2 years of age. For example, assume that when Jane, who works five days per week, has a child, she initially claims 12 weeks. Jane returns to work part time for three days per week. In that case, Jane would apply to be paid parental leave pay on the two days per week that she is not working.
The administration of the PPL will change in some scenarios. For Jane’s case above, the employer would administer the scheme for the first 12 weeks but then the Government would directly pay Jane for her flexible days.
If an employee wishes to access flexible parental leave pay, they will need to negotiate time off work or a part time return to work with their employer. If the employer is unable to accommodate the request, then the employee may take the 18 weeks as one block.
The changes to the paid parental leave scheme apply to babies born on or after 1 July 2020. The scheme commences from 1 April 2020 to give parents applying for leave the flexibility to use the new arrangements (but only if their child is born on or after 1 July 2020).
News headlines recently stated that casual workers have won the right to paid leave following a decision in the Federal Court. As usual, the devil is in the detail.
As the end of financial year nears and planning for the new one is in full swing, we thought it would be a great time to update you on what is changing from 1 July 2020
The company tax rate will reduce to 26% for small and medium businesses from 1 July 2020, despite the current economic climate.
The JobKeeper subsidy has progressed beyond the rush for eligibility and entered its second phase: compliance. Late last month, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released guidance highlighting where the regulator will focus its compliance resources.
Last week the ATO announced a temporary simplified ‘short cut’ method aimed to make it easier for individual taxpayers to claim tax deductions for additional expenses incurred as a result of working from home due to the current pandemic – Covid-19 or Coronavirus.