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News headlines recently stated that casual workers have won the right to paid leave following a decision in the Federal Court. As usual, the devil is in the detail. At present, there is no global change granting Australian casual workers paid leave. The case however, highlights the long runni...

The JobKeeper subsidy has progressed beyond the rush for eligibility and entered its second phase: compliance. Late last month, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released guidance highlighting where the regulator will focus its compliance resources. The JobKeeper estimates err...

Company tax rate reduces to 26% for base rate entities $150k instant asset write-off scheduled to reduce back to $1,000 for small business entities and will no longer be available for entities with aggregated annual turnover of $10m or more (an extension is still to be legislated...

A series of high-profile examples of businesses underpaying their employees has brought the need to get payroll right into sharp focus. Complex award and enterprise agreements can complicate payroll obligations, in terms of both regular salary and wages and the ongoing need to pay employee su...

With the start of the Fringe Benefits Tax year looming on 1 April, businesses are being urged to review their Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) position. The ATO’s top FBT problem areas Motor vehicle fringe benefits - fail...

Empty restaurants and retail stores were one of the first signs of the devastating impact the coronavirus on Australian businesses. Within a few months, the virus, now called COVID-19, has gone from being a largely unknown medical condition to one that threatens to impair Australian and globa...

A new system alerting SMSF trustees of changes made to their SMSF will roll out this month. The ATO will alert trustees by text and/or email when changes are made to bank details, electronic service address of the fund, the authorised contact and members. Trustees need to notify the ATO w...

The ATO has requested insurance policy information from 30 insurers for lifestyle assets such as yachts, thoroughbred horses, and fine arts. The review, expected to impact 350,000 taxpayers, reaches from the 2015-16 to 2019-20 financial years, revealing assets that previously may not...

Ten million hectares, lives lost, wildlife on the brink, billions in lost revenue and clean-up costs. For many, returning life to normal is a long way off this summer. We summarise the help available to those impacted by the bushfires. Tax relief Approximately 3.5 million businesses, individu...

Late last year, legislative changes were made that exclude non-residents from accessing the main residence exemption. The retrospective changes directly impact foreigners and expats whose main residence is in Australia or overseas. Key points ...