Monthly Archives: April 2019

Contractor or employee?

Contractor or employee? You better get it right as the implications for doing so can be financial crippling.  And then there is the time and mental frustration of dealing with such disputes.

The critical thing is to get the classification right.

You then have to get the right documentation in place.

  • If they are an employee then you need to do a few things including determine the right award, give them a letter of offer and issue the National 10 Employment Standards.
  • All too many business owners fail to document a contractor relationship. Agreements are looked through by investigators to avoid shams and find the true relationship. Sadly though, some business owners lose the fight as they have don’t have a contractor’s agreement to prove their position – leaving the investigators to pretty much accept whatever the payee claims.

Does it cost to establish a contractor’s agreement? Yes (but it’s insignificant considering what it can save you)

Should you get one off the web? No (how many times do do it yourself lawyers use say a USA agreement or be clueless about the differing considerations used by the ATO, State Revenue Office and WorkCover).

Will the process reduce the possibility of any claim as both parties are fully aware of the relationship? Absolutely.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation.

Upcoming March quarter deadlines

For those of you who are employers, Friday 26th April is the end date for satisfying your SG super obligation for the March quarter.  Late payments will attract interest and penalties.  As such, this obligation is an employer’s most important commitment so best not to leave it until the last minute; particularly as payments through some super clearing houses take 5 days or more to clear.

For those who lodge a paper (non-electronic) quarterly BAS or IAS, your March quarter activity statement is due to be lodged by Monday 29th April.

Personal services entities

If you have a personal services entity (you will know if this relates to you as we will have discussed this with you many times over the years), your entity will be required to pay at least 80% of its income to you as salary/wage and remit the tax thereon within this BAS.

Lodgement tip

Please note that lodgement of an activity statement (even if it is nil statement) and payment are two separate requirements. Late lodgement attracts a minimum non-deductible fine of $210 for every 28 days that a form is lodged late whereas as late payment results in an interest levy. More importantly, BAS’s and SG super which is not reported and remains unpaid after 3 months becomes a personal debt of directors (please refer to the September 2012 edition of Tips and Traps for further details on the Directors Penalty Notices system) – and the ATO are actively issuing DPN notices.  That said, the ATO are agreeable to entering into payment arrangements.

STP reminder

And a quick reminder about Single Touch Payroll (STP). STP will be mandatory for all employers from July 2019.  You will shortly receive an introductory letter which will be followed by a series or reminders and steps to be implemented before 30th June.

 

$30000 instant asset write off trap

There are a few traps with the $30000 instant asset write off trap to be wary of.

To qualify you need not only to buy the asset but have it installed ready for use before 1st July 2019.

And please note that this increased threshold only applies to asset acquired after Budget night (2nd April).

$30000 asset limit

The Senate has already passed the bill that allows a small business to fully deduct assets costing less than $30,000 (excluding GST).

However it only applies to assets bought after Budget night (2nd April).

From 1st July 2018, the ex GST limit was $20,000.  In case you missed it, the limit was increased to $25,000 for any assets bought on or after 29th January 2019 (and which applies to assets bought before 2nd April 2019.

The $30,000 is generous. It brings a number of quality new cars and second hand cars into the fold.

And even though the expenditure will match the cash flow, please understand that the tax saved is only a percentage of the outgoing cash.

Want to know how your cash flow will be impacted?  Ask us.  We can show our or cloud accounting clients what the real impact will be on their cash flow.

A Budget warning

A Budget warning!  A Federal Budget is only a series of announcements. No announcement has effect until it is legislated.  For that to happen, a bill must be passed by The House of Representatives before being passed by the Senate.  From there it is effectively a formality for abill to receive Royal Assent.

That all said, the increased instant asset write-off of $30,000 has passed the Senate.

With an election pending, other announcements may never see the light of the day.  Many announcements morph into quite different legislation.

Keep an eye on our posts to find out what is eventually becomes law and how you will benefit or be affected.

$30,000 instant asset write-off

It was announced in the Federal Budget on Tuesday night that the instant asset write-off threshold would be increased to $30,000.

Well the $30,000 instant asset write-off has already passed both houses of Parliament.  It now just awaits royal asset (which is a formality).

Please note that this limit only applies to assets bought AFTER 2nd April 2019.

Keep you eye out for more upcoming tips and traps about this valuable tax saving concession.

Don’t jump too early?

So we have a Budget being delivered (one month early) tomorrow night. And we have a Federal Election due next month.

It seems as though we will have a change of government. One would therefore tend to pay more attention to Labour’s announcements than those from the Coalition.  It also could be that Labour have a majority in both houses or at least a favourable Senate.

But don’t jump too early.

I have lost count of the number of times bills put forward by both parties have never been passed or are greatly watered down from the original announcement. And many times I have seen people incur transaction costs or trigger tax liabilities in anticipation of something that never saw the light of day.

Please return to this web page to view Tips and Traps on changes as they become concrete.