Industry News

With the rise of AirBNB and other sharing economy platforms, the ATO is reminding taxpayers that money they earn from renting out a room in their house is rental income for tax purposes. This applies to rooms rented by traditional means or through a sharing economy website or app. The ATO also states that if…

The government has announced that it has dropped its plan to introduce a 32.5 per cent tax (commonly referred to as the “backpacker tax”) on temporary working holiday makers. Instead, from 1 July 2017, working holiday makers will be taxed at 19 per cent from their first dollar earned, up to $37,000, with ordinary marginal…

The ATO has reminded self managed super funds (SMSFs) that they now need to be able to receive SuperStream-compliant contributions. To do this, the following details need to be sent to employers: • SMSF Australian business number (ABN) • SMSF bank account details to receive the contributions • an active electronic service address to receive…

The government is proposing a number of changes to its super policy announcement from the May budget. The changes include: • replacing the proposed $500,000 lifetime non-concessional contributions cap with an annual non-concessional contributions cap of $100,000 (down from the current $180,000 cap). Individuals aged under 65 will be able to “bring forward” three years’…

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC) is warning Australians to steer clear of tax scams, after more than $1 million has been reported lost to their “Scamwatch” already in 2016, with over 300 people reporting they lost money to tax scams in the first half of 2016. According to the ACCC, these scams…

The Commissioner has issued a legislative instrument, F2016L01123 , to ensure that the correct amount of foreign resident CGT withholding tax is withheld where there is a sale of Australian property by multiple sellers and one of them is an Australian resident and at least one is a foreign resident. The PAYG amount must be…

The ATO has released benchmarks for small business. They are a guide to help taxpayers compare their business’s performance against similar businesses in the same industry. Based on the data from 2014 income tax returns and business activity statements, the latest benchmarks: • are calculated from income tax returns and activity statements from over 1.3…

The ATO has announced that it will focus on work-related deduction claims that are higher than expected, in particular, car expense claims for transporting bulky tools, and deductions for travel, internet and mobile phone, and self-education. The ATO said that this year, for the first time ever, it will check taxpayers’ deductions in real-time as…

The ATO has announced that it will focus on excessive interest expense claims and incorrect apportionment of rental income and expenses between rental property owners. It will also look at holiday homes that are not genuinely available for rent and incorrect claims for newly purchased rental properties. The ATO has reminded taxpayers when claiming deductions…

The ATO is allowing trustees of self managed superanuation funds (SMSFs) an extension from Thursday 30 June until 31 January 2017 to ensure that any limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) of their funds are on terms consistent with an arm’s length dealing or are brought to an end. The ATO says it will provide further…