CS Accountants & Bookkeeping in Southport, Queensland | Financial planner
CS Accountants & Bookkeeping
Locality: Southport, Queensland
Phone: +61 1300 696 585
Address: Level 2, 17 Short Street 4215 Southport, QLD, Australia
Website: http://www.solveaccountants.com.au
Likes: 164
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23.01.2022 How to protect yourself against Tax Scammers The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is guiding taxpayers with some simple measures to help protect themselves from scammers as part of Stay Smart Online week. It is important for taxpayers to remember to stay attentive and cautious of emails, phone calls and SMS during tax time that claim to be from the ATO, even if they seem legitimate. There are a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself from scammers, including only gi...Continue reading
20.01.2022 ATO confusion on what it is meant by 'carrying on a business' In the 201617 Budget, the Government announced that it intended to progressively reduce the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. These changes to the corporate tax rate for small business entities have resulted in the necessity to re-consider whether your company is in fact carrying on a business. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) interpretation of whether a company is carrying on a business or a... not came into the limelight recently, with confusion over whether the corporate tax rate cuts will apply to passive investment companies, as generally in the past the receipt of passive investment income has not been regarded as enough for an individual taxpayer to be able to demonstrate that they are carrying on a business. In regards to this issue, the ATO has stated on its website that is not possible to definitively state whether a particular company is carrying on a business, rather it is always a question of fact. This is based on the overall impression of the activities of a company and the relevant indication of whether a business is being carried on. The ATO went on to state that where a company is established and maintained to make profit for its shareholders and invests its assets in gainful activities that have a prospect of profit, then it is likely to be carrying on business. This is so even if the company’s activities are relatively passive and its activities consist of receiving rents or returns on its investments and distributing them to shareholders. Consequently it is likely that the reduced corporate tax rate will apply to a much broader range of private companies than had been expected. While most companies will carry on a business in a general sense, this does not mean that every gain made by a company will be ordinary income. It is still necessary to determine the scope and nature of that business, in order to determine whether a gain will be an ordinary incident of that business and therefore assessable as ordinary income rather than a capital gain. The ATO is currently consulting through the Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group on this issue and is expecting to provide guidance on this matter in the future. The form in which this guidance will be provided has not yet been determined. www.csaccountants.com.au
18.01.2022 Running a business from home If your home is your principal place of business and you run your business from home, and a room is exclusively used for the business activities. Examples are:...Continue reading
17.01.2022 Lucky 13 tips for saving on your taxes Tax time can be daunting; it’s that time of year when you look at income for the last year and think- did I really earn that much? The term ‘you gotta spend money to make money’ can often be more apparent than ever during tax season. The Australian Taxation System luckily enough does align itself with this ideology, and can allow deductions that that you may not have considered. Other deductions can be misleading and often taxpayers suff...Continue reading
16.01.2022 The ATO puts standard deduction claims on notice this tax season The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is making a broader push to quash the standard deduction claims on work-related clothing and laundry claims. Over the last five years a 20% increase in work related clothing claims have been recorded. Last year there was nearly $1.8 billion claimed in clothing and laundry expenses by over 6 million tax payers. Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson expressed their concern ...Continue reading
15.01.2022 The top 100 risk categorisation approach by the ATO According to Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the top 100 population consists of entities that have substantial economic activity related to Australia and form the largest contributors to corporate income tax, GST, excise and other tax revenue sources. Consisting predominantly of public and multinational businesses and superfunds, they have a significant impact on the health of the tax system and the ATO will engage with th...Continue reading
15.01.2022 Rule Changes For Claiming A Deduction For Personal Super Contributions Prior to 1 July 2017 an individual could only claim a deduction for personal super contributions when they met certain conditions. One of those conditions was that less than 10% of their income was scoured from salary and wages. This was known as the 10% test. This meant that predominately only self-employed taxpayers were eligible to claim a deduction for any personal super contributions they made. From... 1 July 2017 the 10% test was removed, meaning most working people under 75 years old can now claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions. From 1 July 2017 you will be eligible to claim a deduction for personal super contributions if you meet the following conditions: 1) You made the contribution to a complying super fund or a retirement savings account: Any super contribution to a Commonwealth public sector superannuation scheme in which you have a defined benefit, will not be eligible. 2) You meet the age restrictions: If you are aged 75 years or older, you can only claim a deduction for contributions you made before the 28th day of the month following the month in which you turned 75. If you are under 18 years old at the end of the income year in which you made the contribution, you can only claim a deduction for your personal super contributions if you also earned income as an employee or a business operator during the year. If you are aged 65 to 74 you need satisfy a work test in the financial year in which the contribution is made. To satisfy the work test you must work at least 40 hours during a consecutive 30-day period during the financial year. 3) You have given your fund a Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal contributions form: Eligible taxpayers will need to notify their fund in writing of the amount they intend to claim as a deduction and their fund must then provide a written acknowledgement of their notice of intent to claim a deduction. This all needs to be done prior to the lodgement of the tax return in which the deduction is claimed. The personal super contributions that you claim as a deduction will count towards your concessional contributions cap, which for the 2017-2018 year is $25,000. When deciding whether to claim a deduction for super contributions you should consider the superannuation impacts that may arise from this. If you exceed your cap you will have to pay extra tax and any excess concessional contributions will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap. www.csaccountants.com.au
15.01.2022 Changes in Australia’s Bankruptcy Law Australia is proposing to reduce the insolvency discharge period from three years to one year. The proposal was endorsed by the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in March under the Bankruptcy Amended (Enterprise Incentives) Bill 2017. One of the critics of these changes, CPA Australia, says that proposed changes could result in more harm than good Major changes include the following:...Continue reading
13.01.2022 Government targets phoenix activity The government has announced a range of reforms to crack down on illegal phoenix activity. The Phoenix Taskforce will comprise over 20 Federal, State and Territory government agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), Department of Employment and the Fair Work Ombudsman. Sophisticated data matching tools have been developed to identify, manage and monitor suspected illega...l phoenix operators. Illegal phoenix activity is when a new company is created to continue the business of a company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts. Illegal phoenix activity poses substantial risks to revenue, employee entitlements and the integrity of the corporate system. It imposes an unfair burden on honest Australians and businesses and is estimated to cost the Australian economy more than $3 billion a year. The reforms include the proposed introduction of a Director Identification Number (DIN) and a range of other measures to deter and penalise phoenix activity. It is proposed that the DIN will allow authorities to track the activities of individual directors through various government databases and map their relationships with other directors and companies. As well as the DINs, the Government will consult on a range of other possible measures to combat phoenix operators, including: - introducing specific phoenixing offences - preventing directors from backdating resignation to avoid personal liability or from resigning and leaving a company with no directors - making directors personally liable for GST liabilities as part of extended director penalty provisions - extending the penalties that apply to tax avoidance scheme promoters to advisers assisting phoenix operators - increasing the powers of the ATO to recover a security deposit from suspected phoenix operators The government will also look at how to identify high-risk individuals, who in turn will be subject to new preventative measures and early intervention tools. www.csaccountants.com.au
12.01.2022 Simpler BAS is now here From 1 July 2017, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reducing the amount of information required for the business activity statement (BAS) to simplify GST reporting. Simpler BAS will be the default GST reporting method for Small Businesses Entities (SBE’s) with a GST turnover of less than $10 million. From 1 July 2017, SBE’s will only need to report: - Total sales ... - GST on sales - GST on purchases. The following GST information is no longer required: - Export sales - GST-free sales - Capital purchases - Non-capital purchases. This however, will not change their reporting cycle, record keeping requirements, or how they report other taxes on their BAS. The ATO’s goal for Simpler BAS is to make it easier to classify transactions, make it easier to lodge your BAS and to reduce the time spent on form-filling and making changes that don't impact the final GST amount. Simpler BAS will reduce the complexity of GST bookkeeping and reporting, and in doing so will reduce compliance costs and make GST account set-up, ongoing bookkeeping, and BAS preparation and lodgment simpler. From 1 July 2017 you will no longer elect your GST reporting method, including GST instalments, on your BAS. Your GST turnover will determine your GST reporting method: - If your GST turnover is $10 million or more, you report GST using the Full reporting method. - If your GST turnover is less than $10 million, you report GST using the Simpler BAS reporting method. - If your GST turnover is less than $10 million and you currently use the GST instalment method, you will generally continue to use it. If the instalment method is available to you, a GST instalment amount will show on your BAS. The GST turnover figure used to determine your GST reporting method will be obtained from your ATO records and will be rolled over at the end of each financial year based on your current year’s reported GST turnover. The ATO will automatically transition eligible SBE’s GST reporting methods to Simpler BAS from 1 July 2017. You don’t need to do anything to access Simpler BAS reporting. If you lodge online and are eligible for Simpler BAS, the ATO will automatically send you a BAS requiring less GST information. To access the full GST bookkeeping benefits of Simpler BAS, SBE’s may be able to also look at changing their GST bookkeeping software settings to reduce the number of GST tax classification codes. www.csaccountants.com.au
12.01.2022 The Small Business Tax Offset Claim Also known as the unincorporated small business tax discount, the small business income tax offset can reduce the tax you pay by up to $1,000 each year. The offset is worked out on the proportion of tax payable on your business income.... Eligibility must be carrying on a small business as a sole trader or have a share of net small business income from a partnership or trust (beneficiary). have an aggregated turnover of less than $5 million for the 201617 income year onwards. ATO will work out the offset based on the amounts shown on the income tax return. The amounts are the following: net small business income that was earned as a sole trader share of net small business income from a partnership or trust (beneficiary). Claiming the offset ATO will calculate the offset based on the amounts included on the tax return upon lodgement. The offset amount will be shown on the Notice of Assessment. The Small business income tax offset calculator is available for those who are completing their tax return using myTAx and needs help in working out the income amounts. The calculator works out income amounts to be used to work out the tax offset, and tells where to include them on the tax return. The ATO will work out the tax offset when they process the tax return. Lodgement through tax practitioner Another way is lodging the tax return through tax practitioners. However, ATO has recently released an update online stating that they have identified some common errors committed by tax practitioners when reporting client income to claim the small business income tax offset. Practitioners may follow these tips according to ATO in claiming the offset. Include net income derived by the small business partnership or trust at either item 13D or 13E, not at 15A Item 13D or 13E should be the share of net small business income from a small business partnership (partner); and share of net small business income from a small business trust (beneficiary). Not to include the following types of income at item 15A, as they are not eligible for the offset. o personal services income this is reported at item 14A (however income from carrying on a personal services business is included at item 15A); o Salary,wages, directors fees o dividend income of directors. Complete all relevant fields, including sole trader business income at item 15A and including net income and not gross income According to ATO, practitioners should also reduce the amounts at these items by any related deductions. landcare operations decline in value for water facilities prior year deferred non-commercial losses of partners claimed this year. ATO use these labels to calculate the offset and they are not counted towards the client's taxable income. A distribution from a partnership or a share of net income from a trust at the relevant item 13N, 13L, 13O or 13U must also be included. www.csaccountants.com.au
11.01.2022 ATO to contact clients with incorrect bank details ATO uses SMS and emails for important information and promotional purposes. Recently, the ATO announced that from 5-23 November, they will contact all clients who are entitled for refund but have incorrect bank details provided on the filed tax returns. An email list of clients will be sent to tax agents that the ATO has contacted and no further action is needed to take for the agents. The SMS text message informs clients t...hat due to incorrect bank details, their refund could not be process and they are advised to contact ATO to provide correct bank account details. This comes after a new tax scam was discovered by ATO where a fraudster impersonates a tax agent. Clients who will contact ATO within seven days to provide their correct bank details will be refunded electronically while, a refund check will be issued to those who will fail to reply. Clients can call 13 28 61 to correct their details. The ATO has advised tax practitioners to contact their clients to inform them that the ATO would never threaten clients with arrests, jail nor demand immediate payments. ATO would never advise unusual payment method such as ITunes vouchers, Bitcoin cryptocurrency, store gift cards or direct credit to a bank account with a BSB that isn’t either 092-009 or 093-003. Lastly, it will never send an SMS advising taxpayer to click a certain link and provide log in, personal and financial information or to download a file or open an attachment. Around 2.3 million scams as of August this year have been reported which makes it as the core issues among taxpayers and small business clients. While ATO contacts taxpayers by phone, email and SMS regularly, there might be a chance that it could be a scammer on the other end. Phone scams are the most common however, scammers constantly change their tactics. Thus, ATO reminds taxpayers and small businesses to stay alert and beware of unsolicited emails and SMS. During the tax season this year, a high alert was issued following a scam on fake myGov email advising a tax payer a refund but instead, the intention is to steal financial and personal information. The ATO reminds taxpayers to report the incident if they feel that it’s a scammer as this will help the ATO to get an accurate picture of what is happening with the current scams, which will ultimately help to protect the Australian Community. Taxpayers may call 1800 008 540 to report a scam or to check if the call, email or SMS was legitimate. www.csaccountants.com.au
10.01.2022 ATO to focus on holiday homes The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is turning their attention to the significant number of errors and false claims being made by rental property owners who use their property for personal holidays or where the property is otherwise not genuinely available for rent for the full year. Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson has reminded taxpayers that deductions can only be claimed against the rental property to the degree that the property is genui...Continue reading
08.01.2022 ATO Annual Report The Commissioner of Taxation has released the 2016-17 annual report, detailing the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) performance results. The report highlights the ATO's accomplishments, but also acknowledges that trust and confidence needs to be restored in the ATO’s services, performance and integrity, which were tested by serious system outages in December and February resulting in related service interruptions, and the revelations of Operation Elbrus whic...h highlighted ATO staff in breach of the agency’s code of conduct. The Commissioner highlighted some of the ATO’s more successful results during 201617 including: - The Tax Avoidance Taskforce which raised $4 billion of additional liabilities against a handful of large businesses and multinationals. The ATO also engaged with companies potentially within the scope of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law, with a number of them restructuring to recognise profits in Australia for the first time. - The ATO’s early engagement and alternative dispute resolution has resulted in a 61% reduction in the number of appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal since 201314. The ATO also introduced Dispute Assist and Fast Intensive Triage initiatives to streamline and support the resolution of objections, which resulted in faster resolution of disputes. - The ATO’s litigation results showed success in more than 80% of cases, highlighting that the ATO are selecting the right cases to pursue through the courts. The Full Federal Court’s decision on the pricing of related-party debt and subsequent assessments in the Chevron case has yielded revenue in excess of $1 billion, and is considered one of the most important decisions in corporate tax in Australia and will have a direct impact across a range of sectors. - The ATO implemented automated SMS reminders rather than formal letters for habitual late payers, which reaped an additional $800 million in payments in 201617 at a cost of just $0.09 per SMS compared with $1 for a formal letter. This method of communication focuses on prevention, and is proving much cheaper than chasing these payments after they are due with phone calls and more letters. The ATO intends to continue reforming administration of the tax and super systems under the reinvention program, and remains committed to improving the client experience and reinforcing a service culture in the ATO. The ATO will continue working with clients, and intends to direct particular efforts into the following areas: - earlier engagement, greater transparency and cooperation with clients and partners - prevention and early warning, rather than correction - more sophisticated use of data for both service and compliance purposes - increased digital service offerings and streamlined interactions - greater appreciation of, and empathy for, taxpayers; and - sensible risk management. www.csaccountants.com.au
06.01.2022 ATO to focus more on work-related expenses (WRE) claims this coming tax season. Due to the large number of claims seen last year for clothing & laundry expenses, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will focus with the WRE claims for this coming tax time 2018. According to Chris Jordan, the ATO Commissioner, almost half of the population claimed the $150 for laundry expenses which has to be related to either protective clothing or uniform. With Jordan’s assumption, they coul...Continue reading
06.01.2022 ATO warning for taxpayers making R&D claims The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS) have collectively released two new taxpayer alerts as a caution to taxpayers who are incorrectly claiming or intentionally exploiting the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Incentive program. The R&D tax incentive program encourages companies to engage in R&D activities that will benefit Australia, by providing a tax offset for eligible R&D ...activities. In 201314, more than 13,700 entities spent $19.5 billion on R&D, claiming a benefit of around $3 billion. The alerts relate to particular issues identified in the building and construction industry where specifically excluded expenditure is being claimed as R&D expenses. The alerts also supply clarification for a wide range of businesses who have been incorrectly claiming ordinary business activities against the R&D tax incentive. The alerts are designed to clarify what can and cannot be claimed as R&D activities and assist businesses to avoid making incorrect claims. The ATO has seen a rise in claims for ordinary business activity expenses, or for large parts of projects that do not correspond to the scale or scope of experimental activities. Ordinary business activities are not generally carried out with a purpose of generating new knowledge. The ATO is increasingly seeing issues including claims that encompass whole projects and where the activities use existing knowledge and expertise. In another two separate alerts, the ATO has issued warnings against claiming the R&D tax incentive for ineligible software development and agricultural activities. The ATO and AusIndustry are reviewing arrangements of companies that are claiming the R&D tax incentive on software development projects and agricultural activities where some or all of the expenditure incurred is on activities which are not eligible R&D activities. The ATO believes there are examples in these sectors where companies are trying to claim ordinary business activities as research activities. The taxpayer alerts specifies the types of arrangements under review and the ATO's concerns regarding R&D claims. The ATO is currently undertaking a range of compliance activities to address businesses and advisors who are intentionally doing the wrong thing and will take legal action against those who knowingly misuse the R&D Tax Incentive. www.csaccountants.com.au
05.01.2022 The Role of External Collection Agencies on ATO Lodgement obligations A trial was conducted by the ATO in the year 2013 and 2017 in using external collection agencies for lodgement obligations but the focus at that time was for self-preparers. Apparently, the pilot did not have adverse impact on the ATO’s reputation, no complaints received and had helped to increase in clients engaging intermediaries to assist with lodgement. The pilot demonstrated that using external collect...Continue reading
04.01.2022 ATO to focus on SMSF's During the conference held last February, Deputy Commissioner of Superannuation James O’Halloran discussed the changes and other plans that the ATO has set out for Self-Managed Superfunds (SMSFs). The commissioner opened his statement by assuring that the ATO will continue to support SMSFs, not only by providing ongoing certainty and practical support but also by progressively and sensibly seeking to ensure that SMSFs comply with the law. He reminded S...Continue reading
03.01.2022 ATO’s guideline to reportable tax positions 2018 Reportable Tax position (RTP) schedule is a schedule of the company income tax return which requires large companies to disclose their most contestable and material tax positions. The RTP disclosure requirement has been significantly broadened for income years ending on or after 30 June 2018. It includes companies in public and international economic groups with a turnover greater than AUD 250 million and they are notified by t...Continue reading
01.01.2022 High work related deductions on the ATO radar The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a warning that it will be paying extra attention to people claiming higher than expected deductions during tax time this year. The ATO’s ability to evaluate work-related expense claims has become more sophisticated due to enhancements in technology and the extensive use of data analysis. To assist taxpayers making claims for work-related expenses, the ATO has a series of occupation g...Continue reading
01.01.2022 7 Small Business Tax Tips For 2018 Small businesses may find that they qualify for a variety of tax benefits this year. The following are just some of the tax tips that can help small businesses. 1) Seek independent advice on investment products that are being promoted as tax effective...Continue reading
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