BUDGET SEASON
‘Tis the season for budgets and they are coming thick and fast.
On the 9th of May, the Hon. Jim Chalmers handed down the ‘Stronger Foundations For A Better Future’ Federal Budget.
Check out our in-depth Budget Guide for all the details and tune-in to our Podcast to hear Jamie Johns and Ashley Carmichael discuss the ins and outs of the budget.
On the same day, the Northern Territory budget was also handed down with the Western Australian budget hot on its heals on the 11th of May.
The Victorian budget came next on the 23rd of May with the Tasmanian budget just a few days later on the 25th of May.
Up next is the Queensland budget on the 13th of June and the South Australian budget on the 15th of June.
The ACT budget will then be handed down on the 27th of June.
And lucky last is the New South Wales budget that will be handed down a little later than usual on the 19th of September due to the recent change in government.
As always, there have been a number of measures announced that affect business and personal finances. If you have a question on any of the measures announced in these budgets, please get in touch.
EOFY 2023
With the 30th of June now just around the corner, business owners should be turning their mind to the final things to be done before EOFY in order to maximise their tax outcomes.
This involves considering items like:
- Completing EOFY stocktakes;
- Writing off any bad debts pre EOFY to obtain the deduction in 2023;
- Prepaying expenses to bring forward the tax deduction into 2023;
- Paying employee superannuation contributions prior to EOFY;
- Identifying if temporary full expensing can be utilised for asset purchases before the provisions expire on the 30th of June;
- EOFY trust income distribution resolutions; and
- Identifying ‘unearned income’ as at EOFY.
We also encourage businesses to undertake an annual budgeting/forecasting process heading into the new financial year.
This process forces businesses to think about the future and to put in place plans to ensure that they address any looming issues and to proactively manage the business for success.
If you would like to discuss EOFY 2023 or planning for FY2024, we encourage you to get in touch.
TAX TIME 2023
As we draw near to the end of the 2022/23 financial year, the ATO is gearing up for tax time.
Employers are required to finalise STP ‘Income Statements’ by the 14th of July 2023 and other ‘prefill’ data such as dividends, interest and health fund statements will start to flow into the ATO system in early to mid-July.
The ATO continue to actively discourage lodgement in early July due to the heightened likelihood of error when this ‘prefill’ data is incomplete.
Given that the ATO does not start to process refunds until mid-July, we support the position the ATO take on early lodgement.
Additionally, the ATO have published their annual list of issues/areas they will be focussing on this year.
Namely, rental property deductions, work-related expenses and capital gains tax.
The ATO continue to find high error rates when reviewing these items and are anxious to see improvement.
All three areas have been in the ATO’s sights for a number of years now and it would seem that their patience is wearing thin. As such, we encourage people to be careful to ensure that they:
- Include only legitimate and accurate deductions in their tax returns; and
- Ensure that they keep the necessary records to substantiate those claims.
The ATO will also be very keen to ensure that their new work from home deduction approach is applied correctly. For details of the new method, please refer to our February Sky Update.
If you have any questions about how to complete your tax return accurately and how to legally maximise your tax position, please get in touch.
Additionally, tax time is a great time to review your broader financial position to ensure that you are on-track to meet your goals.
We encourage you to make use of our free Mortgage Health Check and also to talk to Sky Wealth about how we may be able to support you to meet your financial goals.
SUPERANNUATION GUARANTEE PERCENTAGE INCREASE
Employers are reminded that the Superannuation Guarantee Percentage is increasing from 10.5% to 11.0% from the 1st of July 2023.
Most payroll software will automatically apply the increase from 1 July, however, employers should check to ensure that this is the case with their software vendor.
Additionally, employers should be reviewing employee salary sacrifice arrangements to ensure that they are revised to take account of the Superannuation Guarantee Percentage increase.
If you need assistance to implement the Superannuation Guarantee Percentage increase or to understand the impact on your business, please get in touch.
TAX LAWS AMENDMENT (2022 MEASURES NO 4) BILL 2022
On the 23rd of November Tax Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No 4) Bill 2022 was introduced into Parliament.
This Bill contains a number of measures, the most noteworthy of which are the enactment of the Technology Investment Boost and the Skills & Training Boost that were announced in the 2022-23 Federal Budget.
These measures will provide businesses with a bonus 20% tax deduction for eligible expenditure on technology adoption and training.
The measures will apply to expenditure incurred from 29 March 2022 and:
- 30 June 2024 for the skills & training boost; and
- 30 June 2023 for the technology investment boost.
Whilst the measures will apply to expenditure incurred in the 2022 financial year, the first claims will be made through the 2022-23 income tax return.
The Bill was referred to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry with the Committee’s report having been tabled back in March.
We understand that the Bill is back on the agenda for the Senate during the Winter sittings that resumed on the 22nd of May.
We are hopeful that the Bill will be passed by both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent soon so that businesses can proceed to lodge their 2022/23 tax returns with confidence.
We will keep you posted on the progress of the Bill through Parliament. In the meantime, please get in touch if you have any questions.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
These days we hear a lot about ‘good leadership’ and how important it is to the success of any organisation.
However, what is meant by ‘good leadership’ seems to be more than a little bit nebulous.
Personally, we think that Dolly Parton did a pretty good job of defining ‘good leadership’ when she said “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader”.
What Dolly’s quote highlights is that leadership is not about personal success or winning. It is about lifting-up those around you so that they may reach their potential.
‘Good leaders’ focus outwardly on helping others and their organisations. They see their own success merely as a by-product of helping those around them to succeed.
Sky Accountants Ballarat
Phone: 03 5332 8855
Office Address: 902 Howitt Street, Wendouree, Victoria 3355, Australia
Postal Address: PO Box 2234, Bakery Hill, Victoria 3354
Sky Accountants Gisborne & Macedon Ranges
Phone: 03 5428 1400
Office Address: 45 Hamilton Street, Gisborne, Victoria 3437, Australia
Postal Address: PO Box 270 Gisborne Victoria 3437