Short stay accommodation data matching
The ATO is launching a data-matching program to identify taxpayers who receive income from short term rentals. The ATO will receive information from online platforms for approximately 190,000 Australians.
This information will be reviewed to identify under reporting of income and over-claiming of deductions.
This area of the market has grown very rapidly in recent years and the ATO has serious concerns around non-compliance. Particularly around properties that are used both privately and for short term rentals.
More information on what must be reported as income and what deductions can be claimed can be found on the ATO website. Additionally, feel free to get in touch with Sky Accountants Ballarat or Sunbury for my information.
Building & construction industry contractor reports due
Businesses operating in the building & construction industry are required to lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) to disclose payments made to contractors for building & construction services by 28 August.
The TPAR is compulsory and is used by the ATO to identify contractors who are not reporting all of their income.
More information on who is required to report what can be found here.
Businesses can lodge online or with a paper form that can be obtained from the ATO website.
Contact Sky Accountants Ballarat or Sunbury if you are not sure if you need to complete a TPAR or require assistance to complete the form.
Claiming a deduction for personal super contributions – no longer just for the self-employed
Historically, to claim a deduction for personal superannuation contributions it was necessary to pass the “10% test”. This meant that most salary and wage earners were not able to claim a deduction for their personal superannuation contributions.
From 1 July 2017, the 10% test has been removed opening up the opportunity for many more people to claim a tax deduction for personal superannuation contributions. If you are wanting to claim a deduction for personal contributions, you must ensure that you meet the requirements of the new rules. This includes completing the notice of intent that must be submitted to your superannuation fund.
Before claiming a deduction, there are a number of matters that should be considered, including the impact on contribution caps and your overall tax position.
If you want to claim a deduction for personal super contributions and need assistance, please contact Sky Accountants Ballarat or Sunbury.
Sky in the news
Sky Accountants chief technical officer, Ashley Carmichael recently spoke to mybusiness about the error made by the ATO in its online PAYG tax withholding calculator. Ashley was also interviewed by Publicaccountant on the extension of SuperStream and the superannuation guarantee amnesty.
Meanwhile, Sky Accountants Chief Executive, Jamie Johns spoke to Publicaccountant about the importance of having regular catch-ups with staff for maintaining happy, productive teams.
You can click here to get in touch with Sky Accountants Ballarat and Sunbury who specialise in business tax, business bookkeeping and consultancy.
$2.5m in unclaimed wages
Workers are encouraged to check if they were underpaid in their previous jobs and to see if they are entitled to any of the unclaimed wages currently held by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
The FWO is holding more than $2.5 million in trust for about 10,000 people who were underpaid in a previous job but can’t be located. Compliance and enforcement activities find underpayments regularly and if an employee cannot be located, the entitlements are held in trust until the FWO finds them.
War on waste
With the increasing awareness of and focus on environmental sustainability, hospitality businesses are being pressured to make positive changes in terms of wastage, use of damaging chemicals and carbon footprint.
Hospitality business operators can start by making their venue more environmentally friendly through small changes such as avoiding damaging chemicals, evaluating how food & beverages are stored and served (reducing single use) and implementing a no plastic rule. They can also reduce energy usage and look at solar power options to reduce both costs and emissions.
Not only is a focus on sustainable practices good for the environment, it is also a sound business strategy and good for the businesses bottom-line.
At Sky Accountants, we believe that the focus on environmental credentials of hospitality businesses will only continue to increase. Hospitality businesses are well advised to educate themselves on best practice and to be proactive to secure a competitive advantage.
Community benefit statement deadline approaching
Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, club venue operators are required to prepare and lodge an audited community benefit statement (CBS) with the VCGLR for every financial year in which they receive gaming machine revenue.
The purpose of the CBS is to verify that the community benefit provided by the club is equal to at least 8.33% of its gaming machine revenue.
All clubs with gaming machines should now be making preparations for lodgement of the CBS. If you need assistance to understand business bookkeeping and the CBS requirements, or to prepare the CBS, please contact Sky Accountants Ballarat or Sunbury.
Accountants Ballarat Office
Phone: 1300 328 855
Fax: 03 53334430
Office Address: 902 Howitt Street, Wendouree, Victoria 3355, Australia
Postal Address: PO Box 2234, Bakery Hill, Victoria 3354
Accountants Sunbury Office
Phone: 03 97444522
Fax: 03 97447004
Office Address: 45 Hamilton Street, Gisborne, Victoria 3437, Australia
Postal Address: PO Box 270 Gisborne Victoria 3437