With inflation issues globally, we are seeing continued pressure on interest rates and cost of living, staffing shortages, supply chain issues and rising business costs. This Budget will need to deliver for Australian businesses, and particularly small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Watch SW Director, Greg Will, talking to Ticker News about this topic below.

Opportunities for growth, investment and trade are critical to everyone’s success, so SW Accountants & Advisors has once again partnered with Small Business Australia (SBA) to get to the heart of what business is looking for from the Budget, come Tuesday 9 May 2023.

Take the survey!

Take this short 2-3min survey from SW and SBA and tell us what you need from the budget in order to Look forward and Open Doors. You’ll help us build a robust and current view of Australian small business.

Each survey respondent will RECEIVE $100 DISCOUNT on any of the business services offered by Small Business Australia. Vouchers will be provided after the close of the survey on 8 May 2023.

Budget Breakfast Webinar – 10 May | 9.30am AEDT

Join us as we share the details of the 2023 Federal Budget that incudes an interactive Q&A session.

Our host, Matt Birrell will be joined by esteemed guests ANZ Senior Economist, Madeline Dunk, and Bill Lang, Executive Director of Small Business Australia, as well as SW Director, Greg Will speaking on the impacts on SME business, together with SW industry experts.

Online registration details

Date         Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Time         9.30am – 11am (AEDT) 

Greg Will interview @ Ticker News | How Australian small businesses performed post-COVID

Federal Budget webinar experts

Madeline Dunk
ANZ
Senior Economist

Bill Lang
Small Business Australia
Director

Gregory Will
SW
Director, Business and Private Advisory

Matt Birrell
SW
Director, Tax

Follow us on LinkedIn to receive the latest updates on Federal Budget and other important industry news.

The post Federal Budget 2023/24 Business Survey & Webinar appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Revenue measures announced as part of the 2022–23 Queensland Budget, include:

• a mental health levy on payroll taxes above $10m
• extension of payroll tax deduction for small and medium Queensland businesses with the deduction being extended from the current ceiling of $6.5m in annual Australian taxable wages up to $10.4m
• 50% payroll tax rebate for apprentices and trainees will be extended for a further 12 months to 30 June 2023, and
• foreign acquisition duty relief for foreign buyers who are retirement visa holders when purchasing their principal place of residence on or after 1 January 2023.

Mental health levy

A mental health levy will be introduced which will apply to payroll tax liabilities arising on or after 1 January 2023. This will be applied to large employers, or groups of employers, with annual Australian taxable wages over $10m, including an additional levy applied to taxable wages over $100m, providing funding for mental health services.

The mental health levy will be applied as follows:

• a 0.25% levy on the annual Australian taxable wages of employers, or groups of employers above $10m
• an additional 0.5% levy on the annual Australian taxable wages of employers, or groups of employers, above $100m.

The levy will only apply to the portion of the wages above the respective taxable wage amounts (i.e. on a marginal basis).

Payroll tax relief for small to medium employers

Payroll tax relief will be provided for small and medium businesses, by increasing the payroll tax deductions available to employers, or groups of employers, with annual Australian taxable wages of between $1.3m and $10.4m. These changes are proposed to apply to payroll tax liabilities arising on or after 1 January 2023.

Racing levy

A 5% racing levy will be applied to the betting tax rate and bonus or free bets will be incorporated into the calculation of betting tax for liabilities arising on or after 1 December 2022.

Progressive coal royalty rates

3 additional progressive coal royalty rates will apply. The new tiers will apply on that part of the average price per tonne of the coal sold, disposed of or used on or after 1 July 2022 as follows:

• 20% for prices exceeding $175 AUD,
• 30% for prices exceeding $225 AUD, and
• 40% for prices exceeding $300 AUD.

How can SW help?

Please reach out to one of our experts below for assistance navigating the implications and opportunities this Budget presents for you, your business and your industry.

Contacts

Jeremy Wicht

Vincent Shi

The post QLD State Budget Overview 2022/23 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

We can support you with a range of services, including:

• accounting and taxation compliance
• business advisory
• business health check
• business and financial structures
• corporate governance
• international business advisory
• outsourced accounting solutions
• performance improvement
• process and system improvement
• strategic planning
• succession planning
• wealth management and estate planning.

The post Business advisory appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Managing tax detail and compliance can be overwhelming, especially for small and medium-sized and even larger private businesses. From cloud migration to strategice planning, international business to tax and accounting compliance, we offer comprehensive tax services that help you identify and manage potential tax risks before they become a problem, maximise tax opportunities and minimise exposure, take realistic tax positions, and ensure compliance with all ATO requirements.

This way, you can focus on what matters most to you: growing your business.

Our extensive involvement in the industry and deep understanding of legislative and administrative reforms means we are actively involved and up-to-date on all current tax issues that impact businesses. Our knowledgeable teams are dedicated to ensuring that your business is fully compliant with tax regulations and optimized for the best possible tax outcomes.

We believe in providing a personal touch, so our senior engagement leaders take the time to keep you informed and answer any questions you may have. Our goal is to provide you with peace of mind, knowing that your tax affairs are being managed by experienced professionals that are an extension of your team.

The range of our services to private and unlisted businesses is extensive and includes: 

• accounting and taxation compliance
• business advisory
• business and financial structures
• corporate governance
• international business advisory
• outsourced accounting solutions
• performance improvement
• strategic planning
• succession planning.

The post Tax for Private Business appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Compliance obligations apply from a wide range of bodies at various times in the year, including:

• Australian Taxation Office
• income tax returns
• FBT returns
• GST returns
• superannuation payments and reporting
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
• financial Institutions
• industry bodies and regulators
• State Revenue Offices(s)
• Land Titles Offices(s)
• Australian Charities and Not For Profits Commission.

Our team has both the experience and adaptability to deal with your evolving needs as compliance becomes more complex.

We work with you to help you understand your requirements and establish lodgement deadlines. We then provide the accounting and taxation services to ensure you meet your reporting obligations.

Our compliance services are designed to work with you efficiently so that you can continue focusing on your business while we take care of the back office requirements.

We also utilise the latest technology where appropriate to make compiling your documents as pain free as possible. Our team provides advice to maximise your position while ensuring you meet your obligations.

The post Accounting & compliance appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Navigating the detail of tax can be a daunting task for businesses and finance teams, particularly for companies with complex transactions, structures and workforces. We’ll help you identify and manage tax risks, maximise opportunities and minimise exposure, take realistic tax positions and ensure compliance with all ATO requirements. 

We have a highly skilled specialist tax teams working with multinational corporations and Australian subsidiaries of overseas companies, as well as Australian and Asia Pacific firms of all sizes.  

Our significant involvement in industry and a high level of involvement in reforms, both legislative and administrative, means we are actively involved and across all current tax issues that impact business.  

We are closely involved in consultative processes, making submissions to Treasury and/or the ATO and have extensive experience managing successful ATO reviews including Combined Assurance Reviews (CARs), Streamlined Assurance Reviews (STARs) and ATO top 20 and top 100 reviews.  

Our team can provide end-to-end solutions across: 

• corporate & International tax advisory 
• Country by Country reporting 
• employment taxes (PAYG, FBT, superannuation and payroll) 
• expatriate taxes 
• FATCA / CRS 
• fuel tax credits 
• fund tax advisory 
• Government grant assistance 
• global workforce mobility services 
• GST and indirect taxes 
• tax due diligence 
• transfer pricing 
• tax structuring 
• tax effect accounting  
• tax governance implementation and review 
• tax controversy, dispute, review and audits 
• tax compliance automation 
• research and development tax incentive 
• remuneration and benefits (share schemes) 
• State taxes (Stamp Duty, Land Tax, GAIC).

The post Tax for Corporates appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Stephen has acted for a diverse range of clients including individuals, large private groups, government entities and public groups across the funds management, property, manufacturing and higher education sectors. He is a sought after presenter and is a regular speaker at property and higher education seminars on relevant tax issues impacting these sectors.

Stephen’s experience includes:

• Providing strategic advice for tax due diligence on Australian and international property acquisitions
• Advising on European real estate acquisitions valued at over A$2Billion
• Delivering tax compliance for foreign pension funds that have invested in $750m+ real estate in Australia
• Providing tax structuring advice for foreign multinationals investing in Australia, including in relation to income tax, withholding taxes, MIT regime, indirect taxes and employment taxes. The advice covers optimal profit repatriation and exit strategies
• Advising in relation to tax structuring for clients looking to invest in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Singapore, Hong Kong and India
• Assisting clients in relation to complex tax consolidation, CGT, and tax loss recoupment issues, including issues arising on the sale or restructure of businesses and ensuring that appropriate roll-overs are utilised
• Successfully obtaining refunds of withholding tax for clients which have been incorrectly deducted by foreign tax authorities
• Undertaking GST reviews to maximise reduced input tax credit claims
• Performing the role of Tax Technical Advisor for Thomson Reuters’ One Source FBT software.

Stephen is a Partner of SW Audit and a Director of SW Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd.

The post Stephen O’Flynn, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Updated 10 June 2021 (including announcements in the 2021/22 Federal Budget)

In this alert, our tax experts have detailed the key dates and conditions of eligibility for the instant asset write-off and full expensing of depreciable assets announced in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Federal Budgets.

The multiple amendments to the rules have seen variations and extensions in eligibility thresholds, asset cost thresholds and installation date requirements. What was designed to be a simple tax cash flow benefit to encourage investment has now become relatively complex.

The Federal Government introduced the Full Expensing of Depreciable Assets (FEDA) measures in the 2020 Budget, which was an extension to the existing Instant Asset Write Off measures (IAWO).

As a guideline:

• IAWO apply to assets purchased prior to the 2020/21 Federal Budget (6 October 2020)
• FEDA measures apply to assets purchased on or after the 2020/21 Federal Budget (6 October 2020)

There may be some overlap in rules between the IAWO and the FEDA, in particular for assets purchased after 6 October 2020. Where this is the case the FEDA measures takes priority.

The tables below, summarises the measures (as they currently stand) for the 2020 income year and onwards. For simplicity we have not included thresholds or eligible requirements prior to the 2020 income year.

Federal Budget 2021/22

In the 2021/22 Federal Budget (on 11 May 2021), the Federal Government announced that they will extend the FEDA until 30 June 2023. It was otherwise due to finish on 30 June 2022. Other than the extended date, all other elements of FEDA will remain unchanged. This will be law when the Bill receives Royal Assent.

Please note

1. The term aggregated turnover includes group companies located within and outside of Australia. Your global consolidated annual report will be a good starting reference point.
2. The IAWO and FEDA provisions do not apply to certain assets including capital works asset (e.g. buildings and structural improvements), certain primary production assets or assets that have been allocated to a low-value pool or software development pool.
3. A passive entity (e.g. entity holding a rental property) may not qualify as carrying on a business. You should discuss this with your adviser.
4. For a LBE, a depreciating asset that starts to be held after the 2020 Budget time is excluded from the FEDA if:
   • the entity entered into a commitment to hold, construct or use the asset before the 2020 Budget time; or
   • the asset is a second hand asset.
5. In the 2021/22 Federal Budget (on 11 May 2021), the Federal Government announced that they will extend the FEDA until 30 June 2023 (i.e. it will cover assets installed and ready for use by 30 June 2023). This will be law when the Bill receives Royal Assent.
6. No immediate expensing under the FEDA. However, LBE can look to utilise the IAWO measures and claim an immediate deduction for the full cost of eligible second-hand assets costing less than $150,000 if they are purchased by 31 December 2020 and installed ready for use by 30 June 2021.
7. For those entities which may not otherwise qualify for FEDA, alternative tests are available to be able to access the FEDA measures (similar to the measures available for LBEs).  To satisfy the new test, companies must have:
   • less than $5bn in total statutory and ordinary income, excluding non-assessable non-exempt income (generally assessable income Australia) in either the 2018-19 or 2019-20 income year; and
   • invested more than $100m (cumulative) in Australia in tangible depreciating assets in the 2016-17 to 2018-19 income years.

The alternative tests allows businesses with an aggregated turnover of more than $5bn (due to the income of an overseas parent or associate) to qualify on the basis that they meet the additional investment requirements based on Australian activities.

Things to consider for your business

• If the IAWO measures do not apply for depreciable assets purchased prior to 6 October 2020, can the accelerated depreciation rules apply?
• There may be situations where the IAWO rules provide a better benefit over the FEDA including:
  • where LBE acquires a second-hand asset; or
  • where an entity acquired, or first used or installed ready for use, the asset on or after 12 March 2020 and prior to the Budget time
• What entities (domestically and internationally) may be grouped for the purposes of the ‘aggregated turnover’ test. This may be more complicated for multinational businesses.

• Are passive entities (e.g. property trusts) considered as ‘carrying on a business’?
• Consider reducing PAYG instalments if the entity is considering purchasing significant depreciating assets that may be eligible for a write off under the IAWO or FEDA.
• The FEDA is optional. Therefore, it may be worth considering whether incurring the tax deduction in a lump sum would be more beneficial than over time under the normal depreciation rules. Examples where taxpayers may wish to opt out include:
  • Ability to carry forward losses and satisfy loss testing rules
  • Ability frank dividends or receive other tax credits
  • Taxpayers prefer to align accounting and tax depreciation
  • Taxpayers have the choice to apply the FEDA on an asset-by-asset-basis.
• The ATO has indicated that significant FEDA and IAWO deduction disclosure information will be included in 2021 and later year returns. Record keeping will be required to be tailored to be able to make these disclosures.

Get in touch

Contact one of our experts to learn more about the impacts this may have to your business and how to navigate these changes.

Contributors

Jae Debrincat
View LinkedIn profile

The post Temporary full expensing of depreciating assets appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

On 1 July 2021 wage theft became a crime in Victoria and it is expected that other states will follow. 

The Wage Theft Bill 2020 creates new employee entitlement offences, comprising wage theft offences and new record keeping offences. It is designed to capture employers who falsify or fail to keep records for the purposes of concealing wage theft.

The key objective of the Bill is to ensure that employers who withhold employee entitlements dishonestly are held to account and protect vulnerable employees from exploitation.

The new law states that employers who dishonestly withhold wages, superannuation or other employee entitlements could be fined up to $198,264 for individuals, $991,320 for companies and be sentenced to up to 10 years’ jail.

Directors of companies / Council members have a legal responsibility to ensure the company meets its Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding and Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) obligations. If the company does not meet these obligations, Directors / Council members may become personally liable for a penalty equal to these amounts.

Payroll health check

In light of these new laws and given the number of organisations that have been publicly identified to have underpaid employees we urge all businesses to undertake a payroll health check. The health check will ensure that all entitlements, including superannuation, are accurately determined and paid in compliance with the current ATO requirements to avoid any penalties.

• Underpayments to casual and permanent staff for ordinary pay, overtime and leave loading
• Inconsistencies and incorrect interpretation and payment of payroll entitlements under various Awards
• Underpayment of Superannuation entitlements.

What is the impact?

Financial risks

• Underpayment to employees
• Payroll tax underpayment
• Superannuation underpayment
• WorkCover underpayment
• Annual leave loading underpayment
• Penalties arising from underpayments

Reputation risks

• Staff morale
• Community expectations
• Adverse media attention
• Criminal prosecution

Opportunity

• Self report to avoid potential financial and/or criminal actions
• Meet your social and legal obligations to act in the best interests of your employees
• Be able to potentially claim a corporate tax deduction for the payment of underpaid superannuation
• Receive a reduction of potential penalties that can be up to 200% of the total underpaid superannuation.

Action required – how we can help

1. Review current payroll processes to ascertain compliance with the relevant awards, enterprise agreements and identify if there are any underpayments.
2. Through the use of data analytics, quantify the underpayment in addition to the superannuation, annual leave, WorkCover and leave loading liabilities within the required timeframes.
3. Review historical superannuation guarantee payments to ensure that any shortfalls are rectified.
4. Check that payroll codes are correctly categorised as ordinary times earnings and any awards applied correctly to ensure that employers are meeting their payroll obligations going forward to avoid penalties.
5. Maintain auditable records for any external review.
6. Liaise with legal advisors re ramifications of underpayments on tax and superannuation liabilities and any provisions required.
7. Work with you to identify root causes of the issues, implement required process changes and identification of all costs requiring quantification.
8. Work with you to disclose any underreporting of payroll costs to the ATO.

Changes to treatment of casualised workforce

Employers are required to review and reassess their contracts for all casual employees.

Following the landmark decision handed down by the High Court of Australia in the Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato case and statutory changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) in March 2021 with retrospective effect, employers are required to review and reassess their casual labour contracts. Particularly where there is regular and systematic work provided and the employee’s contract has a commitment to future work.

Leave entitlements can be a minefield for employers, especially when relating to casual employees. To help you understand the potential risks and obligations, please read our alert and FAQs.

Get in touch

Through the use of sophisticated data analytics and a review of your current awards, enterprise agreements and payroll processes, SW can assist you to manage your organisation’s payroll and superannuation risks efficiently, as well as identifying potential savings opportunities.

We use our customised data analytics tool to review your payroll records to identify any shortfalls or disclosure concerns.

Rest assured that whilst the Government’s social distancing guidelines are in force, we are able to assist you remotely during this period and are able to provide the full benefits of these services.

Reach out to one of our SW experts below to discuss how we can support you.

 Contacts

Stephen O’Flynn

E soflynn@sw-au.com

Laura Toscano

E ltoscano@sw-au.com

Justin Batticciotto

E jbatticciotto@sw-au.com

The post Wage theft criminalised in Victoria appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

• New and recent developments
• FBT recap and hot topics – reducing FBT on cars and car parking due to COVID-19
• Global mobility and impacts of COVID-19 on tax residency and employee tax obligation
• Payroll tax and COVID-19 concessions
• The rise in popularity and attractiveness of employee share and incentive plans (Corporate session only)
• Highlighting not-for-profit rebates and exemptions (NFP & Government session only)

Corporate session

Nor-for-profit & Government session

Contact us

The post Employment Taxes update 2021 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.