No.22: New Super Contribution Reporting & Payment Standard

Legislation was introduced as part of SuperStream to standardise the way employers pay and report superannuation contributions. From 1 July 2014, employers with 20 or more employees will be required to use the Data and Payment Standard (the standard) when making superannuation contributions. The standard requires payment and data to be sent electronically. This will ensure
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No.21: Monthly PAYG Instalments

Legislation has recently been introduced which may require taxpayers who currently pay PAYG instalments on a quarterly basis to pay them monthly. The legislation received Royal Assent on 29 June 2013 and comes into effect on 1 January 2014 at the earliest but has staggered introduction dates depending on the turnover of the particular entity
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No.20: Bank account details for ATO refunds

From 1 July 2013, individual tax returns with an expected tax refund that are lodged using the electronic lodgement service (ELS) will be required to nominate an Australian bank account to receive the refund. The details required include Account name, BSB, and Account number. Joint bank accounts and trust accounts are also acceptable. (Refer link: http://www.ato.gov.au/General/Enquiry-hot-topics/In-detail/Tax-professionals/EFT-refund/).
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No.19: Means testing of the private health insurance rebate

As advised in our Client Alert No 9, the Federal Government introduced legislation from 1 July 2012 to means test an individual’s entitlement to the private health insurance rebate. For the 2013-14 income year, the means testing applies as follows – Singles – Medicare Levy Surcharge Income of more than $88,000 Couples/family – Combined Medicare
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No.18: TFN Reports for closely held Trusts

As outlined in Client Alert no 6 – TFN Withholding for closely held Trusts, the government introduced legislation which requires “closely held trusts” to withhold tax from distributions to beneficiaries where the beneficiary has not provided its tax file number (TFN) to the trust and the trust has not reported the TFN to the Australian
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No 16: Trustee action required by 30 June 2013

As we approach 30 June 2013, trustees will need to start thinking about the distribution of trust income for the year ending 30 June 2013. Trustee resolution and timing For beneficiaries to be presently entitled to trust income, trustees must ensure that a valid resolution is made by 30 June 2013 (or an earlier time
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No 15: Superannuation planning for businesses

The ATO has advised medium and large businesses to start preparing for changes to their super obligations now to ensure they are ready for the changes on time. The following reforms will impact businesses from 1 July 2013 onwards: Employers must increase the compulsory super payments they make on behalf of their eligible employees from
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No 14: Government announces reforms to superannuation

On Friday 5 April 2013 the Government announced reforms to the superannuation system. Key reforms announced include: Cap on the tax exemption for earnings on assets supporting a super income stream – from 1 July 2014 earnings in super on assets supporting income streams will only be tax free up to $100,000 a year for each
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No 13: Failure to lodge on time (FTL) penalty increase

Recent changes to the Commonwealth legislation have led to a significant increase in the maximum penalty that the Australian Taxation Office can impose on returns or statements that are lodged late or remain overdue. It is also likely that there will be further increases to the penalties on a regular basis in the future. How
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