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The work test will be scrapped for non-concessional and salary sacrificed contributions made by individuals aged between 67 and 75 from 1 July 2022. Currently, those individuals need to either pass the work test or satisfy the work test exemption criteria for each financial year that they make contributions in order for their super funds to accept these contributions. This change was designed to provide older Australians with more flexibility to contribute to their super and add to their retirement.
The ATO could soon have the power to issue a direction to complete an approved-record keeping course in instances where it believes an entity has failed to comply with tax-related record-keeping obligations in lieu of financial penalties. Legislation has been introduced into Parliament, but not yet passed.
With most of Australia and the world still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses, both public and private, are offering rewards and incentives for their employees to get vaccinated and/or get the booster dose. Depending on the type of reward or incentive offered, and whether it is exclusive to employees or the general public, there may be tax consequences for the business.
If you’re a retiree and the current rise in cost of living and inflationary pressures are starting to bite, don’t turn to high interest loans, if you meet certain eligibility criteria, you may be able to access the Home Equity Access Scheme (previously known as the Pension Loans Scheme) run through Services Australia.
Insurance within super is usually the most cost effective way for an individual to cover themselves in the event of a mishap. Most super funds typically offer three types of insurance for their members consisting of life cover, total and permanent disability (TPD) and income protection insurance (or salary continuance cover).
As a part of an economic package to help businesses recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government provided cheap credit to qualifying small and medium enterprises in the form of the SME Recovery Loan Scheme. When it was first introduced, and until 31 December 2021, the government essentially guaranteed 80% of the loan amount.
Most of Australia has been experiencing a building boom fuelled by government policy such as the HomeBuilder scheme and a general desire to make our living spaces better as we spend more time working, educating and living at home. However, with global supply chains and transport routes disrupted due to the effects of COVID-19, there have been well-publicized material shortages and builder collapses in the sector.
With the recent collapse of a second Australian cryptocurrency exchange in as many months, along with persistent reports of a range of sophisticated cryptocurrency scams targeting Australians, many cryptocurrency owners are asking if you lose money in a scam can you deduct the loss? The short answer is it depends.
The ATO has recently issued an alert warning taxpayers against disguising undeclared foreign income as gifts or loans from related overseas entities, including family and friends. It says it has continued to encounter instances where Australian resident taxpayers derive income or capital gains offshore which are assessable but fail to declare it in their income tax returns.
Since the heady days of 2012, when the ATO published its first tax gap estimates by releasing the GST and LCT (luxury car tax) gaps, the latest figures released by the ATO encompass every income and transactional tax as a measure of the total tax performance of the system. The most recent overall estimate of tax performance is around 92.7% which means that the ATO received 92.7% of the total tax revenue that should be reported according to current law, equating to around $428bn.
If you’re a small business owner and the pandemic has made you reassess your future, whether it be retirement or selling your business and starting afresh somewhere else, just remember that there may be capital gains tax (CGT) consequences to such a move. However, the tax law does provide four concessions to enable eligible individuals to eliminate or at least reduce the capital gain on a CGT asset provided certain conditions are met.
The director identification regime is now in place. If you’re a director of a corporate trustee of an SMSF, you’ll need to apply for a director ID number online through the new Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) before the deadline. A director ID is a 15 digit identifier given to a director (or someone who intends to become a director) that has verified their identity with ABRS.