Payroll matters February 2022
Higher PAYG withholding rates continue to apply to backpackers As we recently communicated, the High Court has held that the ‘working holiday maker tax’ (also known as the ‘backpackers tax’) did not apply to a taxpayer on a working holiday visa from The United Kingdom who was also an Australian tax resident. This was due […]
JobKeeper fraud criminal conviction
First criminal conviction for JobKeeper fraud A person claiming to be a sole trader was convicted of three counts of making a false and misleading statement to the Commissioner of Taxation, in order to receive $6,000 in JobKeeper payments to which he was not entitled. He was not operating a genuine business and he had […]
ATO loses case on JobKeeper and backdated ABNs
JobKeeper claims and backdated ABNs On 24 March 2021, the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in a decisive case. It concerned the requirement that an entity claiming JobKeeper must have had an ABN on 12 March 2020, or a later time allowed by the ATO. The Registrar of the Australian Business Register had […]
COVID-19 Superannuation Update
Special COVID-19 Superannuation Condition of Release Extended Regulations that extend the time frame of the special condition of release to access $10,000 from superannuation for individuals experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19 have been formally registered. The ability to withdraw up to $10,000 from superannuation (if certain conditions are met) was initially set to expire […]
Tax treatment of JobKeeper Payments
Broadly, JobKeeper Payments received by an employer are assessable income to the employer Likewise, the payments an employer subsequently makes to an employee that are funded (in whole or in part by the JobKeeper Payment) are generally allowable deductions to the employer. The ATO has recently issued some guidance for employers in receipt of JobKeeper […]
JobKeeper 2.0 tweaks to Decline in Turnover Tests
JobKeeper 2.0 Eligibility and Payments On 21 July 2020, the Government announced that the JobKeeper Payment (JKP) would be extended until 28 March 2021 (i.e. for a further six months beyond its original end date of 27 September 2020). As a result, JKPs will now be made over two separate extension periods, being: Extension period […]
Expanded eligible employee definition for JobKeeper
JobKeeper Eligibility Changes Additional recently implemented JobKeeper changes mean more employees qualify for JobKeeper payments from 3 August 2020. This is primarily because: the eligible employee test has been extended from 3 August 2020 to include eligible employees who were employed on 1 July 2020 (in addition to the original 1 March 2020 employment date) […]
From the desk of Justin Flavel, Spring 2020
The business market is extremely odd; some industries definitely need the extended JobKeeper payment whilst others are having record months. It has been a challenging period for all over the last 6 months and we believe it is going to be an unstable environment for many months still to come. If your business has not […]
JobKeeper audits underway
First reports of ATO audits lands one small business in debt Imagine going through all the rigmarole to apply for JobKeeper when COVID-19 restrictions were rife, only to have your application rejected months later by Tax Office auditors? That is what has now happened to one small business owner in Melbourne who took a DIY […]
JobKeeper 3.0
JobKeeper extension On 21 July 2020, the Government announced that the JobKeeper Payment (‘JKP’) would be extended until 28 March 2021 (i.e., for a further six months beyond its original end date of 27 September 2020). As a result, JKPs would now be made over two separate extension periods, being: Extension period 1 – which […]