ATO Cautions Against Early Release SMSF Scams

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is cautioning members of the public and SMSF trustees from engaging in illegal early release schemes. The schemes involve channelling super funds or assets into SMSFs in an attempt to grant people illegal access to their retirement benefits before they have qualified to do so.…

Australians’ Savings Dip as Cost of Living Surges

More Australians appear to be financially struggling as the cost of living continues to rise. A survey undertaken by the website Compare the Market found that as much as 15% of people had no savings they could tap into in case of emergencies. On average, Australians are estimated to have…

SMEs Urged to Take Up Energy Tax Incentive

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed plans to introduce the Small Business Energy Incentive which will see small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rewarded with up to $20,000 in tax breaks for electrification and energy efficiency efforts. This tax incentive is set to be part of the upcoming budget and is expected…

Middle-Income Earners Warned of End to LMITO Relief

The low and middle-income tax offset (LMITO), also referred to as the lamington offset, is a tax relief that an estimated over 10 million Australian taxpayers have enjoyed since the 2018-2019 financial year. Introduced by the previous Liberal government, it was due to end on 30 June 2022. The current…

Super Fund Satisfaction Declines

Leading market research firm, Roy Morgan, has released its Superannuation Satisfaction report that indicates a decline in overall satisfaction with the super fund in February 2023. The results are based on findings from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians. Satisfaction with super funds was found to have dipped by 5.4%…

Tax Avoidance Hot Issue For ATO

To suppress tax dodging behaviour, the government is pushing hard at several initiatives at the federal, state and territorial levels. Last year, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) reported that about a third of large corporations did not pay tax for the 2020-2021 financial year. Despite this substantial difference, the ATO…

CPI In Australia Tops Out At 7.8 percent For 2022

The latest report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.9% for the December quarter of 2022 and a total of 7.8% for the year. This is the fourth consecutive quarter during which the index has risen at a level higher…

ATO Faces Criticism Over Agent Linking Process

Several accounting bodies are urging the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to amend the new tax agent linking system. The process was earlier targeted at major public and multinational enterprises with sizable in-house accounting services but will soon be rolled out for small businesses. The ATO has criticised its design as…

Labour Market Woes Far from Over

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there was a slight decline in job vacancies in November 2022. Vacancies fell by 23,000, or 5%, from August, leaving a shortfall of 444,000. This also represents an 8% fall in job vacancies from the peak reached in May 2022. The latest…

Audit Shield claims activity across Australia Jul – Dec 2022

The Accountancy Insurance Claims Department continues to be busy processing claims from client accounting firms across Australia. The five most common audit activity areas 1 July 2022 – 31 December 2022 were: > Payroll Tax (All States) > Employer Obligations (PAYG/SG/FBT) > Income Tax (WRE) > BAS (Pre & Post…