Here’s a summary of the key changes coming into effect on 1 July 2024.

The end of the financial year is fast approaching. We outline the areas at risk of increased ATO scrutiny and the opportunities to maximise your deductions.

A case before the Administrate Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was a loss for a taxpayer who blurred the lines between his private expenses and those of his company.

Where there is a written contract, the rights and obligations of the contract need to support that an independent contracting relationship exists. The fact that a contractor has an ABN does not necessarily mean that they have genuinely been engaged as a contractor.

What is the end game for your business? Succession is not just a topic for a TV series or billionaire families, it’s about successfully transitioning your business and maximising its capital value for you, the owners.

When it comes to generational succession of a family business, there are a few important aspects.

The ATO has ‘refreshed’ the way you can claim deductions for the costs you incur when you work from home. From 1 July 2022 onwards, you can choose either to use a new ‘fixed rate’ method (67 cents per hour), or the ‘actual cost’ method depending on what works out best for your scenario. Either way, you will need to gather and retain certain records to make a claim.

New paid family and domestic violence leave has come into effect for employers with 15 or more employees. for businesses with under 15 employees, access will be from 1 August 2023.

Under the new legislation, employees will be able to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12 month period.

The deadline for existing directors of Australian companies to obtain a Director Identification Number is 30 November 2022.

All directors of a company, registered Australian body, registered foreign company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation (ATSI) will need a director ID. This includes directors of a corporate trustee of a self-managed super fund (SMSF).

2021 was to be the year we returned to a post-COVID normal however the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way many of us operate in our personal and work lives. Here is some of what we can expect in 2022

By Melanie Such - Atlas Broker

Even as an Insurance Brokers I understand that there are not too many people who like to spend time talking about business insurance. Unfortunately, if you don’t have regular discussions with your Insurance advisor about your business and any changes that have occurred, you may become underinsured or incorrectly insured. No one wants to find out that their business insurance is not ‘fit for purpose’ after an event has occurred.

The Victorian State Government Small Business COVID hardship fund offers $10,000 to eligible and medium businesses, including employing and non employing businesses and had been introduced to allow more businesses who had not previously received some of the Victorian Government grant programs announced from the 27 May 2021. Applications are open from Thursday 12 August 2021 until program funds are exhausted or 11:59pm on Friday 10 September 2021, whichever is earlier.

Australia is facing a shortage of skilled labour. When the supply of staff dry up the focus often turns to retention. But the first step is to understand why people you want to stay, choose to move on?

Directors will be required to register for a unique identification number that they will keep for life, much like a tax file number under a rewrite of Australia’s business registers.

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.

Are you employing more staff? Find out about the eligibility for the JobMaker Hiring Credit including the Employer Eligibility Criteria, Employee Eligibility Criteria and the Job Creation eligibility Criteria.

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.

Employers need to ensure that they identify all additional employees who could be eligible for JobKeeper to ensure that they comply with the "one in, all in" principle and that they meet the nomination requirements.

To understand the value of a business, the pandemic necessitates a depth of investigation beyond the norm. You cannot simply ignore the pandemic and rely on pre-pandemic performance and financials, even if you are enthusiastic about the future

Businesses fail (or fail to thrive) for a myriad of reasons, but the precursor is often a failure to understand what is occurring and what to monitor. Strategically, managers need to be on top of their numbers to identify and manage problems before they get out of hand. If you do not know what the key drivers of your business are - the things that make the difference between doing well and going under - then it’s time to find out.

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.

For some employers, JobKeeper will not be enough to keep the employee employed. If you do need to let staff go, the ATO has stated that from JobKeeper fortnights from 8 June onwards until the end of the scheme, ETPs cannot be included as part of the $1,500 an employer needs to pay to eligible employees to access JobKeeper payments.