Industry News

The Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 1) Bill 2015 has received assent as Act No 66 of 2015. The new Act reduces the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent for companies that are small business entities with an aggregated turnover of less than $2 million from the 2015-16…

The ATO has issued guidance on the 2015-16 Federal Budget measure that allows small businesses to immediately deduct each asset costing less than $20,000. The ATO said:  as a once-off, small business entities that have previously elected out would not be subject to the “lock-out” rule of the concessions but will instead be able to…

Despite the positive announcements in tonight’s Federal Budget for Australian small business, it is not clear from the fine print that the government has delivered on a vision for Australia’s future. Alex Malley, chief executive, CPA Australia, said that “tonight’s budget lacks a real vision and commitment to the serious and overdue structural reforms that…

The Prime Minister has stated that the previously flagged general company tax cut and the levy to pay for the paid parental leave scheme from Wednesday 1 July will not go ahead. He said the upcoming Federal Budget will instead include measures to cut small businesses’ tax bills in ways that will stimulate investment, boost…

In a recent speech, Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg outlined the various issues on his agenda for superannuation. He mentioned that the government will consult with all parties on various proposals from the Financial System Inquiry, including the prohibition of borrowing by superannuation funds. He also confirmed that superannuation tax concessions will be considered in detail…

The Senate has disallowed the Corporations Amendment (Streamlining Future of Financial Advice) Regulation 2014. ASIC will take a practical and measured approach to administering the law as it now stands following this disallowance. They will take into account that as a result of the change to the law that applies to the provision of financial…

The government has announced that it will reform the tax treatment of employee share schemes to support start-up companies and boost entrepreneurship. Specifically, it said it will reverse the changes made in 2009 to the taxing point for options. The change will apply to all companies and will mean that discounted options are generally taxed…

The Governor-General has proclaimed Tuesday 30 September as the start date for Sch 1 to 5 of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Act 2014. As a result, the Schedules will have the following dates of effect for most taxpayers (those with a substituted accounting period may have a different date of…

The Interim Report of the Murray financial system inquiry has been released. The final report is due in November 2014. The Interim Report makes some 28 observations on the Australian financial system which reflect the inquiry’s current judgment, based on available evidence. The Interim Report also includes a range of possible policy options. It listed…

The Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Measures) Bill 2014 has been introduced in the House of Reps. It proposes to amend the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 to continue to maintain the Child Care Rebate (CCR) limit at $7,500 for three income years, The Child Care Rebate will be maintained for…