Welcome back the podcast! In this episode we cover off the latest JobKeeper developments, the SGC amnesty and that lodgement extensions ar enot really extensions at all.

On Friday the 24th of April the treasurer carved out full time students aged 16 and 17 from the JobKeeper system. This was a moving forward approach and therefore any payment made in advance of this date will still qualify for the JobKeeper reimbursement.

The JobKeeper alternative test has been announced. If you cannot satisfy the basic test, which is a reduction or expected reduction in GST turnover, then the alternative turnover test can be applied for:

a. Entities that have newly commenced business such that there is no relevant comparison period in 2019

b. Entities that acquired or sold part of their business which affected turnover

c. Where there was a restructure of the business that affected turnover

d. Where a business experienced rapid growth in turnover such that its projected turnover is not comparable to the 2019 period

e. The business was affected by drought or other natural disaster

f. A business has an irregular turnover that is not cyclical

g. A sole trader or partner in a small partnership who was unable to work due to illness.

The superannuation guarantee amnesty is now law, and this is effective from 24 May 2018 to 7 September 2020. The amnesty seeks to encourage employers who have failed to comply with SGC obligations in the past to correct this. The act allows employers a one-time window to make up all outstanding SGC contributions that have been neglected previously. The benefit of this amnesty is that it allows employers to claim the payment as a deduction, when typically, late superannuation payments are not-deductible. If you are going to participate in this, then you need to advise the ATO in writng using the typical methods and forms. I encourage ALL employers, even diligent ones to review their superannuation payable accounts to see if there are any that have been inadvertently missed and correct this during the amnesty period. Furthermore, due to COVID-19 the ATO have advised they may be able to make flexible payment arrangements where applicable to assist in these catch ups; however, payment terms aside, this still needs to be declared to the ATO in writing prior to the date mentioned previously for the amnesty to apply.

The third tranche of the government stimulus package has just been announced, and this is centred around a $130 billion stimulus payment, with indications the Government are not done yet. The Government has now contributed $320 billion to the Coronavirus fight, which accounts for 16.4% of GDP. 

This latest stimulus package is built around a $1,500 per fortnight gross payment to employees.

I wanted to start with something I am passionate about, and glad to see the ATO cracking down on, and that is essentially widening the net in regards to illegal phoenix activities. For those of you that do not know, Phoenixing is essentially abandoning a company and then recommencing a similar company with similar stakeholders, but essentially your tax liabilities from the former company are neglected, and abandoned. Hence the term Phoenix, it is essentially a company that rises form the ashes of another. The benefit of a company is that the directors are protected by the corporate veil and generally are not personally liable for the liabilities of the company. This has changed in recent years, and the recently enacted Treasury Laws Amendment (combating Illegal Phoenixing) Act 2020 takes this further still.

What is new in this is act, which is already in effect, is that there are new phoenix offences, which essentially serve to prohibit creditor-defeating actions. This essentially prohibits any transfer of company assets for less than market value that would delay or hinder a creditors access to company assets in a liquidation. In the past essentially, it was only employees via superannuation obligation,s and the ATO, via director penalty notices that were protected. Any unsecured creditor was hung out to dry, with no affordable and effective recourse.

If a company officer is found guilty of these new offences, there are new criminal offences and civil provisions.

There is also a denial and restriction of backdating resignations. Typically a form can be submitted to ASIC outside of the 28 day lodgement obligation period, but a fine applies. Now however, these forms will essentially be denied, especially in situations where the company would be abandoned, that being, have no director at all. The director would only be able to resign from the date the form is reported to ASIC. Furthermore, abandonment of a company by a resigning director which would leave the company without any directors, is now prevented.

Furthermore, directors may become personally liable for the company's GST liabilities. This is in addition to the existing director penalty regimes in respect of pay-as-you-go and superannuation liabilities. This is 100% a welcomed addition, as ensuring ALL liabilities can be met is part of the internal governance obligations of the company directors and officers.

Finally, the ATO now have the authority to retain tax refunds in certain situations, which allows the ATO to ensure that companies satisfy their tax obligations and pay outstanding amounts of tax before being entitled to a tax refund.

If you are a director of a company make sure you are compliant. I know it goes without saying, but the corporate veil is certainly thinner now than it was before February 18th.

The ATO has commenced an inquiry in to the tax treatment of employee share schemes. Based on my Linkedin feed this has certainly been welcomed by the accounting profession and what the committee will inquire is:

1. How effective the changes in 2015 have been in their goal of bolstering entrepreneurship in Australia and start-up companies. 2. The costs and benefits of these concessional taxation treatments and deferred taxing points for options, to the broader community. 3. Whether the current tax treatment of ESS remains relevant to start-up companies and whether any changes are appropriate to ensure that the taxation treatment remains relevant 4. How companies currently structure their ESS arrangements and how taxation treatment effects these decisions, and 5. The challenges faced by companies in setting up an ESS arrangmenet and how the standard documents introduced by the ATO in 2015 assist this process and whether additional improvements should be made.

Obviously very early days in this inquiry, but it is important nonetheless. Employee share schemes provide a great avenue for start up companies to attract talent and definitely something that the ATO are aware of, and this inquiry is evidence of themselves changing, accepting that the market place is a changing and dynamic one. As more information comes to hand we will of course be sharing it.

Something with a bit more detail, is that we are now in March, and that will see Auskey retired this month. For most of us tax practitioners we will have fully migrated to the RAN and myGovID, which is a system that initially I was very skeptical of. In fact when I first installed it, I could not access my clients, and when I called the ATO, they literally said to just "try tomorrow". Thankfully we were able to resolve the issue and get it all working, and I must say for the last 8 weeks it has worked pretty well. Certainly not without it's teething issues, which are always frustrating, but safe to say this is now a working software solution.

If you have not, make sure you are on this new system, as it will be your only option soon enough and you want to make sure you have everything in place.

Welcome to Episode 047 of the Wise Accounting Podcast. This week we discuss the latest developments including:

- ATO lodgement and payment concessions to those affected by the bushfires in Australia. - The changes to Single Touch Payroll with the integration to the Child Support Agency - ATO increased data matching and how insurance companies may provide the key to the ATO taxing previously untaxed and unknown asset disposals.

If you enjoy the podcast, please feel free to leave a review, as they help immensely; and subscribe to never miss an episode!

Being an accountant and business adviser, I am an extremely lucky person. Not only do I get to help clients achieve their business goals, but I get learn from their successes, and mistakes. With a new year, and a new decade, I wanted to share the 10 biggest lessons I have learned from the past 10 years, drawing on my professional experiences over that time.

These are not in any order, and I'd argue all are as important as each other. I have seen many people improve their professional and personal well being by improving on only one or two of these lessons, but if you can apply all 10 then you will well and truly be on the upward trajectory. The top ten lessons of the last 10 years are:

1.  Priority not Priorities – It is important to have only one priority. If you have more than one then it is a source of confusion, and your ultimate driving purpose changes, depending on what your priority is each day. Have only one and be laser focused on it. It doesn't matter what your priority is, as every person is different, but make sure it is true to you, and you are true to it.
2.  Do not do a job you hate. Plain and simple. It will impact everything, and impact everything negatively. Both myself and my wife quit jobs we hated, without having anything else to turn to…but we backed ourselves, and it all worked out (It was how Wise Accounting was born!). Being happy is an important life decision, and being happy at work has a direct correlation to achieving that.
3.  Do not work silly hours. I know people talk about 'grinding' and 'hustling', but people also lose sight of what that means. Working hard is not the same as working lots. As always, you need to be effective, and working 12 to 14 hours a day is a recipe for disaster. What it may deliver you in one hand, it will take just as much out of the other. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
4.  Do not be connected all the time. Being on all the time, much like above just leads to burnout, and you need a time when no one can reach you, so you can replenish mentally. You have no chance of solving some of your larger problems if you are constantly being barraged with requests, regardless the medium.
5.  Your business must have formal direction, or else you will be at the mercy of the economy and customers and other factors that will impact your business. If you have a business plan, and refer to it regularly, you maintain control. Do not be at the mercy of external factors, it is your business, it is your life. It's needs to under control, and you need to be accountable to yourself.
6.  Surround yourself with good people be that professionally and personally. I always try to be the 'dumbest person in the room' at any networking or social event, so I can always improve. On that matter, do not forget that you are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with most, so ensure these people are raising your average!
7.  Have a mentor. Have more than one. Even if you have a brilliant business mind you need someone to bounce ideas off of. I am fortunate enough to have an old boss as my mentor and I listen to their advice intently. You need to make sure your mentor has your best interests at heart, and is not just enjoying the sound of their own voice. My mentor is one of the brightest business brains I have ever met…actually, he is just one of the smartest people in any field, full stop. However, you must remember having a mentor is a two way street and you need to give as much to the relationship as you take.
8.  Have a life. I know I kind of mentioned it earlier with the 'silly hours' reference but this whole permanent hustle state or "I'll sleep when I'm dead" mantra thing is stupid. I've been there, thinking busy was the best place to be. It's not. It sux. I went 6 years without a holiday and that is stupid too. I have since worked very hard to have a better balance and every aspect of my life is better, including my professional one. Make sure you have downtime…you just never know when an idea will strike you. More often than not it will be when you are not at work!!
9.  Focus on others, not yourself. Focus outwards and not inwards. If you are thinking of others, and what they need rather than what you want, good things will happen. We are arguably more selfish than ever, and trying to profit at every opportunity. I have seen it time and time again, when someone looks away from themselves, to solve another's problem the impacts are always good. Personally, I have found this mindset to be of greatest benefit during tough times, busy times, when focussing on others seems hardest of all, however, the net impact is certainly a positive one.
10.  Be grateful. It is so easy to be all the opposite feelings, frustrated, envious, angry – basically any negative feeling. But if you can start and end the day thinking about the good things in your life and day it will help you succeed. I have tools to help me achieve this, as it can be hard after a rough day hard, but certainly helps re-centre you first thing in the morning and at the end of the night. To help, keep a journal, you will be amazed at the positive impact something like this can have.

These are the 10 lessons I have learned over the last 10 years. I have attempted to apply as many of these to my own personal and professional life as I can, and hopefully you will too! A balance is important, but of even more importance is a plan. Have a plan about how you will tackle each decade, each year, each day, do that, follow the lessons above and hopefully the next 10 years are the best of your personal and professional life.

Defeating email is a challenge, but this time of year it is the easiest it will be. Use the momentum of this time of year, a quieter inbox, and my tips below to ensure that your 2020 email pain is kept to a minimum. I have previously dealt with a swelling inbox, one that caused an immense amount of stress, but I have employed the following tips to help me ensure I not only manage my inbox from a physical point of view, but also mentally.

1. Schedule your inbox vists. Do not live in your inbox all day and night. If you need help to develop this discipline, I personally recommend tools, such as Mixmax and Bommerang. 2. No silly hours. That being do not make email the first thing you do, and also, do not make it that last thing you do. 3. Email is not your schedule. Just because an email is at the top of your inbox, does not automatically make it the first thing you need to do next.

Ultimately email is a tool, and it is critical to treat it that way. It works for you, not the other way around.

I hope your inbox is already under control, and this is ultimately a moot point, but if not, I hope this is helpful.

Please feel free to let me know how you deal with your inbox, in case you have any other tips and tricks to share.

Welcome back to the Wise Accounting Podcast, the first since the election! With the results still so fresh, there have not been too many changes yet, with parliament still not sitting. However that does not mean there aren't things to cover.

With the coalition retaining power that means we can expect to see the $30,000 immediate asset write off pushed through without issue. This was announced on the budget night, and replaces the $25,000 amount that became effective on January 29 2019 (up from $20,000). While this is not legislation yet, this should be successful in clearing both houses of parliament.

Secondly, if you operate in the cash economy (or black economy as the ATO call it) or the sharing economy then you need to very much be up to speed on your reporting requirements and the taxes that apply to you. The ATO have extensive data matching capabilties, and with the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL), the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) and the GST on Inbound Digital Sales and Low Value Goods being in place, the reach of the ATO data matching is only increased.

Learn more to all of this in Wise Accounting Podcast Episode 44, and if you have any questions simply reach out to [email protected] and one of our happy team will assist your query.

Until next time, thanks for listening

We're back! And the reason being is that we have only 4 more days left (apparently) of Parliament sitting days, until the election. Exciting, nervous, lots of things in between, but it does have a tax implication too. What this means is that the $25,000 immediate asset write-off that was announced on 29th January will face an uphill battle to become legislation before parliament breaks. While Labor have supported this, I am unsure how much of a priority it will be. It is very much a watch this space and something we will continue to advise you as updates come to hand.

Tax Residency Reform

The incumbent Australia tax residency law, that has been unchanged since 1930 is being reviewed with the aim to modernise and simplify it. There have been several cases recently that have highlighted the absurdity of the old rules, and we can expect updates at some point in the future.

Updated Superannuation Rates

The ATO has published the key superannuation rates and thresholds for the 2019/20 year. Some of these rates and thresholds have been indexed in accordance with the average weekly ordinary time earnings figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The key superannuation rates and thresholds include the following: • concessional contributions cap — the concessional contributions cap is $25,000 for the 2019/20 year • non-concessional contributions cap — the non-concessional contributions cap is $100,000 for the 2019/20 year • CGT cap amount — the CGT cap amount for non-concessional contributions for 2019/20 is $1.515m • Division 293 tax — the Div 293 tax threshold amount for 2019/20 is $250,000 • superannuation guarantee — the maximum super contribution base for 2019/20 is $55,270 per quarter • superannuation co-contribution — the maximum superannuation co-contribution entitlement for the 2019/20 year remains at $500. The lower-income threshold increases to $38,564 and the higher-income threshold increases to $53,564 for the 2019/20 year • superannuation benefit caps — the low-rate cap amount for 2019/20 is $210,000. The untaxed plan cap amount for 2019/20 is $1.515m • general transfer balance cap — the general transfer balance cap for 2019/20 is $1.6m • defined benefit income cap — the defined benefit income cap for 2019/20 is $100,000 • employment termination payments (ETP) — the ETP cap amount for life benefit termination payments and death benefit termination payments for 2019/20 is $210,000, and • tax-free part of genuine redundancy payments and early retirement scheme payments — for genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments for 2019/20, the base limit is $10,638 and for each complete year of service is $5,320.

We hope you have found this beneficial, and as always, if you have any queries, or feedback, please do not hesitate to reach out to the team at [email protected]