Yearly Archives: 2021

Year-end tax planning Part 3 — STP for family members; franking 26% to 25%; SGC 9.5% to 10%, no $450 pcm threshold; Super CCC $25k to $27k, NCC $100k to $110k; LMITO continues for 2022

A third instalment of tax considerations and changes having effect around year end, includes the 2021-22 end of the ‘single touch payroll’ exemption for ‘closely held payees’ (family members) in small employers (fewer than 20 employees); corporate tax and franking rates reduce from 26% to 25% for ‘base rate’ taxpayers; SGC moves from 9.5% to…

Le’Sam Accounting Pty Ltd v TPB – Tax agent no longer a “fit and proper person”; failure to respond in relation to legitimate complaint

On 4 June 2021, the AAT has confirmed a decision of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) to cancel a tax agent’s registration for not acting “with honesty and integrity”; failed to provide information about a complaint he knew was legitimate and some other ‘meltdown’ behaviour. See below for further details. [Tax Month – June 2021]…

Olias Pty Ltd v CofT – Music teacher a common law ’employee’ of a music school for super guarantee purposes

At the end of May 2021, the AAT decided that a music teacher engaged by a music school was an ’employee’ (within the ordinary meaning of that word) and not an independent contractor for superannuation guarantee purposes. See below for further details. [Tax Month – June 2021]   Olias carried on business as a music school.…

G7 Finance Ministers agree to tax reforms for major multinationals – tax in countries where they operate and minimum 15% tax

The G7 Finance Ministers, meeting in Cornwall in the UK under the UK’s Presidency, issued a media release dated 5 June 2021, announceing that they had agreed to principles of an ambitious two Pillar global solution to tackle the tax challenges arising from an increasingly globalised and digital global economy. See below for further detail.…

STP 2021/D1 – Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting exemption extended for another year: 2021-22 – ATO issues draft exemption instrument

On Thursday 10.6.21, the ATO today issued Draft Taxation Administration – Single Touch Payroll – 2021-22 year Withholding Payer Number Exemption 2021 (STP 2021/D1) proposing to extend for another year (2021-22) an existing STP reporting exemption for the main (the mandatory) payments. See below for further details. [Tax Month – June 2021]     The…

VNBM v CofT – scheme to obtain cash flow boost failed -$100k paid per week instead of previous $100 (to get maximum $50k benefit)

On 7 June 2021, the AAT held that a company, that claimed it had paid $107,500 in wages to a director for one week, instead of the usual $100 a week, has been denied payment of the cash flow boost. This was to get the $50k maximum benefit. See below for further details. [Tax Month –…

Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd (Trustee) v CofT – Trustees assessed on capital gains distributed to foreign residents – taxpayers lose appeals in Full Federal Court

On 10 June 2021, the Full Federal Court dismissed appeals against 2 separate decisions that trustees of resident discretionary trusts were assessable under s98 of the ITAA 1936 on capital gains made on the sale of shares that were not taxable Australian property (TAP) which were distributed to foreign residents – causing both taxpayers to…

The Impact of Tax Havens – as seen through EU Public Country-by-Country Reporting data

Tax Havens were a key ingredient in the amazing world consensus to do something about ‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’ (BEPS) but they have come to the fore again, with some European countries denying Covid-19 relief to companies in, or with subsidiaries in tax havens (though the definition of this is contentious). This coincides with…

Assessing the Federal Government’s fiscal policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The 2021-22 Federal Budget marks the final main instalment in the Federal Government’s fiscal policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, barring any mishap in which there is a severe outbreak before most of the population has been fully vaccinated. So, it is timely to assess fiscal policy in the COVID-19 era. Five lessons are drawn…

Year end tax planning Part 2 – Div 7A minimum payment ‘hardship’ relief; start of 25% corporate ‘base rate’; temporary ‘full expensing’ measures; and no deductions for holding costs on vacant land or travel expenses to inspect rental properties

Further year end tax planning points (many of them less obvious) include: making hardship applications, if Div 7A minimum payments can’t be made, this year; the start of the 25% tax rate and franking rate, for ‘base-rate’ companies, with an aggregate turnover under $50m; JobKeeper derivation; crypto-currencies realisation issues; vendors claiming a credit for any tax…