The House of Reps Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue on Mon 24.11.2014, tabled its report 2013 Annual Report of the Australian Taxation Office: Second Report. The Report said the ATO has made progress on many of the issues raised by the Committee during the first public hearing of its inquiry. Committee Chairman John Alexander said…
The Inspector-General of Taxation on Fri 14.11.2014, released 2 reports: Follow-Up Review into Delayed or Changed ATO Views on Significant Issues (“U-turns” review); and Follow-Up Review into the ATO’s Implementation of Agreed Recommendations in 5 Reports Released Between August 2009 and November 2010. Regarding the Follow-Up Review on ATO “U-turns”, the Inspector-General found that the ATO has fully implemented…
The Australian National Audit Office has undertaken an independent performance audit in the ATO titled Administration of Contact Centres. It has now released its ANAO Report No 7 2014-15 outlining the results of the audit. The ANAO said ATO contact centres are a major communication channel for taxpayers to contact the ATO and have generally…
The Australian National Audit Office has undertaken an independent performance audit in the ATO titled Annual Compliance Arrangements (ACAs) with Large Corporate Taxpayers. It has now released its ANAO Report No 5 2014-15 outlining the results of the audit. ACAs were introduced in 2008 in response to feedback from large corporate taxpayers that they were…
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has released for comment an exposure draft on the Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement: Health Promotion Charities. Commissioner’s Interpretation Statements provide guidance to ACNC staff, charities and the public on how the ACNC understands the law that applies to charities. The Statements are binding on ACNC staff. The proposed Statement…
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has issued a notice listing the revocation of 408 missing charities from their registration as a charity under s35-10 of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012. The revocation took effect from Mon 24.11.2014 (ie the date of the notice). The ACNC said it had made multiple…
Financial information from Australia’s registered charities will be made publicly available free of charge by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). As part of the 2014 Annual Information Statement, all charities except for Basic Religious Charities and those registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) are required to provide financial…
The Small Business Minister on Wed 26.11.2014, announced that from 1 July 2015, access to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will be extended to all businesses with an annual turnover below the $2m small business entity turnover threshold. Mr Billson said the proposal will “provide approximately 27,500 additional small businesses with a cost free solution…
The ATO on Wed 12.11.2014, released a speech delivered by ATO Assistant Deputy Commissioner Superannuation, Stuart Forsyth, at the ICAA National SMSF Conference on 11 September 2014. Mr Forsyth provided an update on compliance activities and the regulation of SMSFs. Some key points made by Mr Forsyth include: Compliance activities – In the past year, the ATO undertook a…
From 1 July 2013, any excess concessional superannuation contributions are automatically included in an individual’s assessable income and taxed at their marginal tax rate (plus an interest charge). Individuals can elect to release up to 85% of their excess concessional contributions from their superannuation fund to the Tax Office as a “credit” to cover the additional personal…