Newcastle Accountants | Maitland Accountants | Bottrell Offices located in Newcastle, Maitland. Your local Accountants, Tax Agents & Advisors in Newcastle & Maitland.

Are You A Twitter Fanatic?

Bloomberg & Twitter are pairing up to give you a 24/7 new feed Twitter is pushing deeper into live video and news with the launch of a round-the-clock streaming service in partnership with Bloomberg. The news stream, details of which will be announced on Monday, is likely to launch in the fall, the Wall Street [...]

New $7.30 ‘broadband tax’ every month

Customers of NBN competitors will cop a new $7.30 'broadband tax' every month The consumer watchdog has decided customers that receive superfast fibre broadband sourced from outside the NBN will be slugged a tax to help coverage in regional Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Friday handed down its final decision on the [...]

SUPERANNUATION RATES AND THRESHOLDS

SUPERANNUATION RATES AND THRESHOLDS Concessional contributions cap- Concessional contributions include employer contributions (including contributions under a salary sacrifice arrangement) and personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction by a self-employed person (or by any person from 1 July 2017). Income Year Amount of cap 2017/18 $25 000 2016/17 $30 000 Editor: Note that, from the [...]

FRINGE BENEFIT TAX – INTEREST AND COSTS

TD 2017/3 – FBT: BENCHMARK INTEREST RATE The benchmark interest rate for the 2017/18 FBT year is a 5.25% p.a. (5.65% applied in 2016/17). The rate of 5.25% is used to calculate the taxable value of: A loan fringe benefit; and A car fringe benefit where an employer chooses to value the benefits using the [...]

FRINGE BENEFIT TAX – FOOD AND DRINK ALLOWANCE

TD 2017/5 – FBT: REASONABLE AMOUNTS FOR LAFHA BENEFITS This determination sets out the amounts the ATO considers reasonable for food and drink expenses incurred by employees receiving a living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA) fringe benefits for the FBT year commencing on 1 April 2017. Reasonable Australian amount for food and drink – 2017/18 Table 1 sets [...]

FRINGE BENEFIT TAX

TD 2017/2 – FBT: RECORD KEEPING EXEMPTION THRESHOLD: The small business record keeping exemption threshold for the 2017/18 FBT year is $8,393, ($8,286 applied in 2016/17). TD 2017/4 – FBT: CENTS PER KILOMETRE BASIS: The rates to be applied where the cents per kilometre basis is used for the 2017/18 FBT year in respect of [...]

Snapchat Has A New Update!

Limitless Snaps Today we’re making a pretty big change to the way you create and send Snaps. We’re reorganizing the layout of our creative tools, adding a Magic Eraser (you’ll find this under the Scissor tool), and adding a new setting to the timer: infinity! We’ve all felt the frustration of not being able to [...]

ATO settling more cases

The ATO says that while it does not settle disputes at any cost, the sensible use of settlements is part of its commitment to earlier and more effective dispute resolution. In 2015/16, it settled 1,362 cases- almost one-third (31%) more than in the previous year. The increased number of settlements can be attributed entirely to [...]

Deductions and offsets for capital expenditure

Primary producers and other landholders can claim specific deductions for certain capital expenditure- specifically: Electricity and phone connections; Landcare; and Electricity and phone connections You can claim a deduction in equal instalments over 10 years for capital expenditure incurred: Connecting mains electricity or upgrading an existing connection to land on which you conduct a business; [...]

Working holiday makers – 2017 early lodgers

The ATO has advised that the recent change to tax for working holiday makers means there are extra steps practitioners need to take when preparing an early 2017 income tax return for these clients. A schedule must be provided identifying income earned up to 31 December, and from 1 January onwards, to ensure the correct [...]

Planned changes to GST on low value imported goods

From 1 July 2017, overseas clients with an Australian turnover of $75 000 or more will need to register for, collect and pay GST on goods up to $1 000 that they sell to consumers in Australia. If Australian clients are registered for GST and buy low value imported goods for their business from overseas, [...]

Project Refresh- ATO modernising public rulings

The ATO says that it has produced a large number of public rulings over many years. Although most are current, many have not been updated in a very long time. Project Refresh is its initiative to address this by modernising its database. The aim of modernising its stock of public rulings under Project Refresh is [...]

Changes to the ‘backpacker tax’

Editor: the ATO has posted the following on its website on its Small business newsroom. Members will note that the date for registering with the ATO is 31 January, so any clients that haven’t registered by the time you see this should do so immediately. From 1 January 2017, tax rates will change for working [...]

ATO’s work related expenses risk profiles

The ATO says that last year 8.4 million taxpayers claimed a total of $21.3 billion in work-related expenses (WREs). This amount continues to grow. Furthermore, the ATO says that it knows this is an area where taxpayers make mistakes, given that complex rules and individual circumstances make WRE entitlements difficult to understand. While the amounts [...]