Jobkeeper 2.0 – new eligibility and new rates

On 15 September 2020, the Treasury has released the Amendment Rules in relation to the Jobkeeper extension (Jobkeeper 2.0) that was legislated on 16 September 2020. The new extension rules will apply from 28 September 2020 onwards to 28 March 2021 and it will affect all Jobkeeper participants, including employees and business participants. 

In short: 

  • Businesses need to reassess their eligibility criteria from 28 September 2020 onwards in order to continue to qualify for Jobkeeper, and again on 4 January 2021. 
  • Payment rate will be reduced for both employees and business participants, and be split into tiers, depending on the number of hours worked 
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in Articles / Knowledge Base / News / Tax Advice and Planning  by Emily Yip

The third wave of the Stimulus Package – JobKeeper payment

Today our Prime Minister and Treasurer announced a third wave of their Stimulus package – the Jobkeeper payment, to assist both businesses and employers to get through the Coronavirus pandemic.

Let’s break it down based on whether you are a business owner (an employer) or employee.

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in Articles / Knowledge Base / News / Personal Tax Returns / Running A Business / Starting a New Business / Tax Advice and Planning / Xero Cloud Accounting  by Emily Yip

Another year has gone by … FBT Year Ends on 31 March – what you need to do

The 2022 FBT year ends on 31 March 2022. (Really?) Yes, that date is not an error as the Fringe benefits tax (FBT) year runs from April to March (unlike the Australian tax year which runs from July to June). It can be confusing at times.

What is FBT?

FBT is the short for Fringe Benefits Tax. It is a tax imposed on employers who provide certain fringe benefits they provide to their employees, including their employees’ family and associates.

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in Articles / Knowledge Base / Running A Business / Tax Advice and Planning  by Emily Yip

Trusts acquiring property in Victoria & New South Wales

If you have bought or are planning to buy residential property via a discretionary trust, you could be liable to pay more duty.  It all depends on what is in the trust deed.

Changes came into place on 1 March 2020 for trust structures acquiring residential property in Victoria or New South Wales.  These trusts will need to check the existing trust deeds which may need amending to exclude any potential foreign beneficiaries.

The changes occurred as the Victorian and New South Wales Offices of State Revenue (SRO and OSR) announced it was changing its stance on the application of duty surcharge to property owned or acquired by family trusts.  This could result in paying more tax.

So what does all that mean? 

Well most family or discretionary trusts do not specifically exclude potential foreign beneficiaries.  This can mean your trust will be a foreign trust for duty purposes resulting in an additional duty of 7% being applied to a property purchase.  This can mean extra tax of tens of thousands.

What to do?

Call us before purchasing property in Victoria or New South Wales if you are thinking about purchasing the property in your trust structure.  We can work with you to ensure your trust structure is the most appropriate structure to use and whether your deed should be amended.

in Articles / Rental Properties / Tax Advice and Planning  by Melissa de Largie

The second wave of Stimulus, what it means to you

This morning, the Australian Government has announced their second round of policies to further support Australian businesses and individuals as it is expected the Coronavirus will be impacting the economy in the next few months.

This is what we know so far:

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in Articles / Bookkeeping and Payroll / Knowledge Base / News / Personal Tax Returns / Running A Business / Self Managed Super Funds / Starting a New Business / Tax Advice and Planning  by Emily Yip