Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund

What is it?

Then Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund has been set up to provide grants to small landlords worth up to $3,000 a month per property. These landlords will either experience hardship or have experienced hardship due to the rental relief they have provided to their tenants under the ‘Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021’.

Landlords will lose their eligibility for this grant if they have already claimed land tax relief between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021.

The goal behind this grant is to provide support to smaller landlords whose main source of income is impacted by the rental relief regulations. The rental relief regulation stated above provides a moratorium on any actions against tenants due to non-payment and always includes a rule that rent must be reduced in the same proportion as the tenant’s loss of revenue.

Applications for this fund are currently open. There is not an announced deadline to submit applications yet.

How will it work?

The process is set out as follows:

Step 1 – Reach a rental agreement to reduce rent payable through negotiations or per the regulation.

Step 2 – Receive approval from tenant to disclose terms of your agreement when applying for the fund.

Step 3 – retain evidence that the reduction has been applied for each month the fund is to be claimed.

Grants will be paid from the fund, up to the value of the amount of rent relief provided, capping out at $3,000 per month for each property affected. The payments will stop either when the ‘fund’ is closed by the government, or the date rent relief agreement is set to end.

Service NSW will pay a lump sum equal to the total monthly value of the rent waived between 1 August and 14 November 2021. Please note that this program is only available in NSW.

Are you eligible?

The main eligibility criteria include:

-       Being a landlord

-       Having entered into an agreement to provide rent relief to your tenant from 13 July 2021

-       Have and will not claim land tax relief between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021.

Where should you apply?

You may use the link here to begin your application process.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Australia’s Current Account: Q3 2021

The current account results for the third quarter were largely positive. The highlight being a surplus increase to $23.9billion. This was driven by a 1% increase in exports and a decrease in imports due to continued lockdowns. The resulting surplus was 4.5% of GDP, the largest surplus as a share of the economy on record.

This result was the 10th consecutive quarterly current account surplus. Driving factors behind this hot streak include higher commodity prices helping boost exports by 16.3% since January 2019 and imports decreasing by 6.7% during the same period, largely due to the impact of continued lockdowns and the effects this creates notably for industries such as education, tourism, and retail.

Terms of trade plays an important role in creating trade surpluses. Currently terms of trade are 23% higher for the year and 68% higher than the long run average.

One issue is worth discussing. Export volumes have essentially stayed still for the past year and remain lower than prior to COVID. Therefore, it can be determined that all the growth in exports can be attributed to an increase in terms of trade/export prices. Inevitably, there is a risk that if commodity prices were to decrease and lower the terms of trade this streak may end abruptly.

The breakdown between sectors shows that in Q3:

-       resource shipments rose by 3%

-       capital goods exports up by 4.4%

-       service imports down 8.2%

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Source: Westpac

Director Identification Number

A Director ID, known as the Director Identification Number is being introduced for company directors.

What is it and why do you need it?

A director ID is a 15-digit number that is given to all directors (and people who intend to be directors) that have verified their status with the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS). Once given to you, this number will stay with you forever, regardless of whether you change companies, stop being a director, change your name, or move away.

All directors must verify their identity with the ABRS and receive their director ID. The reasons director ID was introduced include:

-       Prevent false or fraudulent director identities being used

-       To make it easier for regulators and external bodies to trace directors’ relationships with different companies’ overtime

-       Recognise and eliminate directors being caught up in unlawful activity, such as illegal phoenix activities.

Who needs to apply and when?

You will need to obtain a director ID if you are an eligible officer of:

-       A company, registered body, or a foreign company under the Corporations Act

-       An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander corporation under the CATSI Act.

You are an eligible officer if:

-       You are a director

-       You are an alternate director who is acting in the capacity of the director.

If you become a director under the Corporations Act you must apply by the following dates:

-       If you became a director before the 31/10/2021, you must apply by the 30/11/2022

-       If you become a director between the 1/9/2021 and the 4/4/2022, you must apply within 28 days of being appointed

-       If you become a director after the 5/4/2022 you must apply before appointment.

If you become a director under the CATSI Act you must apply by the following dates:

-       If you became a director on or before 31/10/2022, you must apply by 30 November 2023

-       If You become a director from the 1/9/2022, you must apply before appointment.

How do you apply for the director ID?

-       The first step is to set up a MyGovID

-       The next step is to gather all of the personal information that may be needed to identify you. This may include Tax File Number, bank account details, Super Fund details, etc.

-       Once both steps are complete, you may begin the application process. This process is very quick.

What to do once you receive your director ID?

When you receive the ID number you must pass it on to your company. When you join companies in the future, you must also provide the number to them.  

Through your myGovID you can update any personal details, view your ID number and status, and view your actions and past activities.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Current NSW COVID Relief ( As of 7 August 2021)

JobSaver

This grant is available from 18 July for businesses with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $250million (from the financial year ending June 2020).

The maximum payment that will be given for this has been drastically increased from $10,000 to $100,000 a week.

Non-employing businesses can get access to $1,000 a week.

This money can be used to pay utilities, rent, financial and legal advice, as well as other business costs, not just wages and salaries. In order to be eligible, you must:

-       Have an ABN

-       Have turnover between $75,000 and $250million

-       Have experienced a decline in turnover of more than 30% over a two-week period, due to public health orders.

Update to COVID-19 Disaster Payment

The amount for these payments is set to increase from the 5th to the 8th of August, depending on where you live. If you are missing one day of work per week the payment has increased from $375 to $450. If you have lost more than 20 hours of work in a given week, the payment has increased from $600 to $750.

The criteria for this payment remains the same as before, meaning that you need to be in an area impacted by the public health order lockdowns and have reduced hours at work as a result of this.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Commissioner of Taxation - Asset Surveillance

Commissioner of Taxation – Notice of lifestyle assets data-matching program 14 July 2021

As of the 4th of July 2021, the ATO will acquire data of lifestyle assets from insurance policies. They will do this through to 2022-2023 for the following assets, if their value is equal to or exceeds the set thresholds:

-        Marine vessels - $100,000

-        Motor vehicle including caravans - $65,000

-        Thoroughbred horses - $65,000

-        Fine art - $100,000 per item

-        Aircraft - $150,000

What data does the ATO take?

Client details – Such as name, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth, ABN, etc.

Policy details – Such as insured value, policy cost, policy inception date purchase price of the asset, and more.

The ATO estimates that they will obtain records relating to approximately 300,000 individuals each financial year.

What are the benefits of this for the ATO?

The data is going to be used to improve compliance risk profiling and provide a view on taxpayers' wealth. The lifestyle asset data-matching allows for the following taxation risks to be addressed:

-        Taxpayers accumulating assets with insufficient income reported in their tax return to afford these

-        Capital gains tax – taxpayers disposing of assets and not declaring the capital gain on disposal

-        Goods and services tax – taxpayers that are acquiring assets for personal use through their business in order to claim GST credits they are not entitled to

-        Fringe benefits tax – taxpayers that may be purchasing assets through their business, however there is no nexus to their business activities. Individuals that use these assets for personal use will be subject to a fringe benefit tax liability

-        Self-managed super funds may be acquiring assets but applying them to the benefit of the fund’s trustee or beneficiaries.

What are the objectives of the program?

Goals of the program include:

-        Promoting voluntary compliance and increasing confidence in the integrity of the taxation and superannuation systems

-        To identify possible compliance issues with income tax, CGT, GST, FBT and super

-        Identify and educate individuals and businesses who may be failing to meet their registration or lodgement requirements

-        Help ensure individuals and businesses meet their tax and super reporting obligations

-        Assist with profiling to provide compliance staff with a complete view of individual taxpayer’s wealth.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

UPDATED COVID-19 SUPPORT INFORMATION 20 JULY 2021

There is support for businesses and individuals available

NSW Business Support

$5.3 billion in COVID-19 business grants and payments open for applications over the next two weeks to help businesses with cash flow, maintain staffing levels and expenses.

More information is available as Service NSW Covid-19 Business Support 2021

There are currently three grants available for business: 

COVID-19 Business Grant 

• A one-off payment to help businesses with cashflow support for the first 3 weeks of lockdown. Grant varies from $7,500 up to $15,000 depending on the decline in turnover.

• To be eligible your business must demonstrate a revenue decline of 30% or more, aggregated annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million, and payroll up to $10 million.

• Need to compare a 2-week period from 26 June 2021 to 17 July 2021 compared to the same period in June and/or July 2019.

Apply here Covid-19 Business Grant

Note: Businesses that do not meet the eligibility criteria due to special circumstances; such as those businesses that had not commenced operations until after June/July 2019 or businesses that do not submit a BAS, may need to contact Services NSW directly.  As detailed guidelines on this aspect have not been released, please contact us for assistance if you believe this applies to your business.

JobSaver

• Fortnightly payments to help maintain employee headcount (as at 13 July) and provide cashflow support to businesses

• Employing businesses: 40% of weekly payroll, with a minimum payment of $1,500 per week and a maximum payment of $10,000 per week

• Non-employing business: $1,000 per week.

• To be eligible your business must demonstrate a revenue decline of 30% or more, and annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million.

Opening late July – get notified here JobSaver

Micro Business Grant 

• A fortnightly payment of $1,500 for businesses with a turnover between $30,000 and $75,000.

• To be eligible your business needs annual turnover of $30,000 to $75,000, revenue decline of 30% or more and the businesses must provide the primary income for a person associated with the business.

Available late July – get notified here Micro Business Grant

COVID-19 Disaster Payments – individuals

How much you get depends on your situation. More information and the application process is available at Services Australia

First and second period

You’ll get the following amount for the first and second period of a restricted movement order.

If you lost less than 20 hours work per week, you’ll get $325 for each relevant period, if you're eligible.

If you lost 20 hours or more of work per week, you’ll get $500 for each relevant period, if you're eligible.

Third period and beyond

You’ll get the following amount for the third and later periods of a restricted movement order from:

• 15 July 2021 for people in parts of Sydney

• 18 July 2021 for people in Greater Sydney.

If you’re eligible, you’ll get $375 for each relevant period if you lost either:

• between 8 and less than 20 hours of work per week

• a full day of your usual work hours per week.

If you lost 20 hours or more of work per week, you’ll get $600 for each relevant period, if you’re eligible.

A full day of your usual work is what you were scheduled to work but could not because of a restricted movement order. This includes not being able to attend a full time, part time or casual shift of less than 8 hours.

You can check the key eligibility dates for who can get it.

The COVID-19 Disaster Payment is a taxable payment. This means you’ll need to include it in your income tax return.

We can pay it from the date of activation for an area where both of the following apply:

• the area has a public health lockdown or period of restricted movement for more than 7 days

• the area is a declared COVID-19 hotspot.

General Eligibility Rules

You must meet the general eligibility rules to get the COVID-19 Disaster Payment. You’ll also need to meet some rules for the COVID-19 health order that affected you.

General eligibility rules

You need to meet all the eligibility rules to get the payment.

To get it you must meet all of the following:

• you're an Australian resident or hold an eligible working visa

• you're 17 years or older

• you're not getting an income support payment, ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Dad and Partner Pay or Parental Leave Pay

• you're not getting the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, a state or territory pandemic payment or a state small business payment for the same period

• you live in, work from or have visited a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot

• you live in, work from or have visited a location subject to a state or territory restricted movement order

• you had paid employment and because you were in the COVID-19 hotspot or are subject to restricted movement, you can’t attend work on or after day 8 of the lockdown

• you’ve lost income on or after day 8 of the lockdown and don’t have any appropriate paid leave entitlements

• the liquid assets rule for your event.

Liquid assets are any funds readily available to you in cash or savings, or assets that can easily be changed into cash. For example, money loaned to other people.

A hotspot is an area of COVID-19 local transmission declared by the Chief Medical Officer. The Department of Health website lists the current hotspots.

You’ll also need to meet any rules for the COVID-19 health order that affected you. These rules depend on where you live, work or visited, and the date you were affected.

Lockdown is a period of restricted movement when people must stay at home and can only leave for approved reasons. Read about the eligibility rules and relevant dates such as day 8 of the lockdown for events in the following states:

• NSW

• Victoria.

Leave entitlements

General eligibility rules - leave entitlements

You must use any appropriate paid leave you have before you can get the COVID-19 Disaster Payment.

• Leave that is included

• Leave that is not included

You need to use any appropriate paid leave entitlements before you can get the payment.

Leave that is included

Appropriate paid leave entitlements include state pandemic payments and the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment.

We’ll consider you’ve used all your paid leave entitlements in any of these situations:

• you have no appropriate paid leave

• you don’t have enough appropriate paid leave to cover the relevant period

• your employer can’t pay appropriate paid leave entitlement due to financial hardship.

Leave that is not included

Appropriate paid leave does not include any of these types of leave:

• annual leave

• unpaid leave

• paid sick and carer’s leave

• long service leave

• compassionate leave when your employer has stood you down without pay.

This means you don’t need to take these types of leave before you can get the COVID-19 Disaster Payment.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

COVID-19 Support for NSW Individuals and Businesses - Announced 13 July 2021

In response to the NSW COVID outbreak and lockdown more financial support measures were announced by the Federal and State governments on 13 July 2021 including Small and medium business support payments and Support for Individuals.

We have included the current information as follows and also listed the current NSW Government COVID-19 Support that is available, and other useful links.

Small and medium business support payments

From week four of the lockdown, the Commonwealth will fund 50 per cent of the cost of a new small and medium business support payment to be implemented and administered by Service NSW.

Eligible entities will receive 40 per cent of their NSW payroll payments, at a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $10,000 per week.

Entities will be eligible if their turnover is 30 per cent lower than an equivalent two-week period in 2019.

The new small to medium business support payment will be available to non-employing and employing entities in NSW, including not for profits, with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million.

To receive the payment, entities will be required to maintain their full time, part time and long-term casual staffing level as of 13 July 2021.

For non-employing businesses, such as sole traders, the payment will be set at $1,000 per week.

Businesses can register their interest here at NSW Government COVID-19 Business Support

More information about the 2021 Covid-19 Support package is available via this link NSW Government Business & Employment Financial Assistance

The assistance will cease when current lockdown restrictions are eased or when the Commonwealth hotspot declaration is removed.

To help avoid delays in completing your application:

• ensure your business and contact details are up-to-date with the Australian Business Register (ABR)

• ensure your personal, contact and business details are up-to-date in your MyServiceNSW Account and your business profile

• if you don't have one, create a MyServiceNSW Account and business profile.

In summary, the existing and upcoming business financial support is:

• COVID-19 business grant: if you’re a business, sole trader or not-for-profit organisation impacted by the current Greater Sydney COVID-19 restrictions, you may be able to apply for a grant of up to $15,000 from 19 July 2021.

• Saving Jobs: a support program funded jointly by the NSW and Commonwealth governments to maintain employment of staff for small and medium businesses impacted by the current health restrictions.

• Micro business grant: if you are a micro business (small business or sole trader with annual turnover of more than $30,000 and under $75,000) impacted by the current Greater Sydney COVID-19 restrictions, you may be able to apply for a $1,500 payment per fortnight of restrictions from late July 2021.

• There are in addition several other measures including payroll tax waivers of 25 per cent for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover, as well as payroll tax deferrals and interest free repayment plans have also been announced. Further information is below in the comprehensive list of assistance

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Support for Individuals

Federal Government has announced an increase to the emergency disaster payment from $325 to $375 for people who have lost up to 20 hours of work, and from $500 to $600 for people who have lost more than 20 hours of work due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.  

The new payments have been offered in lieu of reinstating JobKeeper. To access the payment, you need to live or work in an area that has been declared a Commonwealth COVID-19 hotspot. To receive the payment, you must be an Australian resident, a permanent resident or be an eligible working visa holder. For the first two weeks of a lockdown, to receive any payment you needed to have liquid assets of $10,000 or less. That means if you have more than $10k in the bank worth of savings – or trust fund money, or shares, you would not be eligible. Please note that your car is not a liquid asset. The $10,000 asset test does not apply from the third week going forward. You also will not receive the payment if you are getting income support payments, another form of pandemic leave payment or a state small business payment.

The factsheet with the pre-existing information is available here Factsheet-COVID-19-01072021 Disaster-Payment

To apply for the payment, you need to have an online myGov account to which you can link a Centrelink online account (if you have not already).

Once online, Centrelink will ask the user a series of questions to determine if they are eligible to claim the payment.

If you are, a claim will be submitted, and the user will be sent a text message confirming the claim has been submitted successfully.

Alternatively, you can ring 180 22 66 to find out if you are eligible.

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Commonwealth business tax relief

The Commonwealth will also provide additional support through the tax system, by:

• Making NSW small business grants, including the new small business payments, tax exempt.

• Providing administrative relief to NSW taxpayers facing hardship, including reduced payment plans, no interest charged on late payments and varying instalments on request.

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Current NSW Government COVID-19 Support that is available

In addition to the Small and medium business support payments announced and noted above, the following is a more comprehensive list of the Key components of the NSW Government support that is or will be available

• An extension to the previously announced business grants program. This means eligible businesses with Australian wages below $10 million can claim grants between $7,500 and $15,000 to cover the first three-weeks of restrictions, and takes the potential size of the program to $2.1 billion;

• Up to $2 billion committed to the scheme to provide cashflow support to businesses to help them retain staff, to be delivered together with the Commonwealth.

• Payroll tax waivers of 25 per cent for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million that have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover, as well as payroll tax deferrals and interest free repayment plans;

• A new grants program for micro businesses with a turnover of between $30,000 and $75,000 which experience a decline in turnover of 30 per cent. The businesses will be eligible for a $1,500 payment per fortnight of restrictions.

• A capped grant of up to $1,500 for residential landlords who are not liable to pay land tax who reduce rent for tenants estimated at $210 million;

• Land tax relief equal to the value of rent reductions provided by commercial, retail and residential landlords to financially distressed tenants, up to 100 per cent of the 2021 land tax year liability;

• Introduction of legislative amendments to ensure a short-term eviction moratorium for rental arrears where a residential tenant suffers loss of income of 25 per cent due to COVID-19 and meets a range of criteria.

• No recovery of security bonds, or lockouts or evictions of impacted retail and commercial tenants prior to mediation;

• Deferral of gaming tax assessments for clubs until 21 December 2021 and hotels until 21 January 2021;

• A $75 million support package for the performing arts sector to be administered by Create NSW;

• A support package for the accommodation sector worth $26 million;

• $12 million in additional funding for temporary accommodation for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and

• $5.1 million in NSW funding to support mental health.

For more information you can visit NSW Government Media Release COVID-19 Fighting Fund Announcement 13 July 2021

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Other useful Links

Services Australia help during COVID-19

NSW Government COVID-19 Support Package

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For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Super Rate Increase

Changes to Superannuation

As of 1 July 2021, there will be a 0.5% increase in superannuation guarantee rate, increasing it from 9.5% to 10%. There will be a 0.5% increase each year until 2025 where super will be at 12%. It is important to ensure that payroll and accounting systems reflect this change.

MYOB

You will need to check the superannuation guarantee payroll category in your company file to make sure it is set to 10%. If you are using a new company file (started on 1 July or later) in the latest AccountRight version, the rate should already be set to 10%. But if you started using your file before 1 July 2021, you will need to manually update the rate from 9.5% to 10%.

XERO

Xero automatically updates superannuation guarantee contribution rate increases. Xero applies the correct rates for superannuation. Like tax tables, they store superannuation guarantee rates and retrieve the right percentage based on the payment date of your pay runs.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

NSW Small Business Grants for COVID Lockdown

Small businesses across NSW may be able access to grants of between $5,000 and $10,000 due to the COVID lockdown. These grants can be used for expenses such as rent, utilities and wages in order to help small businesses survive the latest lockdown. This is in addition to the Dine and Discover program being extended to  the 31st of August, which are to encourage people to still go out and spend money at small businesses.

Small Business COVID-19 Support Grant

This grant is available to businesses and sole traders that have a turnover of more than $75,000 per year, but below the NSW payroll tax threshold of $1,200,000. These businesses must have fewer than 20 full-time employees and have a registered ABN in NSW or be able to prove that they are physically located in NSW.

Hospitality and Tourism COVID-19 Support Grant

This grant is available to businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry that have a turnover of more than $75,000 and an annual Australian wages expense of less than $10,000,000.  These businesses must also prove that they have a registered ABN or be able to demonstrate that they are physically located in NSW.

Amounts to be paid

The grants to be given are based on what percentage of turnover is lost due to the lockdown as follows:

-        70% decline in turnover $10,000 grant

-        50% decline in turnover $7,000 grant

-        30% decline in turnover $5,000 grant

The full criteria and guidelines for these grants will be available on the Service NSW website in the coming days.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Finalisation of the Year with Single Touch Payroll

The finalisation dates

-        Usually the 14th of July, however due to COVID-19 if you need additional time you will have until the 31st of July.

-        If you have 20 or more employees, you should be you should be reporting all closely held payees each payday, along with arms-length employees. The finalisation date for closely held payees is the 30th of September.

-        For employers with less than 20 employees and are therefore considered small, the finalisation due date will be the payees income tax return due date.

-        For an employer with a mixture of closely held and arms-length employees, the due date for the closely held payees is the 30th of September and for all other employees it is due on the 14th of July each year.

When finishing your finalisation declaration

-        Make sure that your information is correct.

-        if you can’t make a finalisation declaration by the due date for any reason, you must apply for a deferral.

-        You can finalise the data earlier if you have completed it, the sooner you finalise the information, the sooner your employees will be able to begin their tax return.

When you have finalised and reported your employees’ information through the Single Touch Payroll process, you are exempt from:

-        Providing payment summaries to your employees

-        Lodging a payment summary annual report.

Note: if you have not completed it, you must still do both of these.

Making Amendments

If you recognise that you need to make an amendment, you should do this as soon as possible. You should also inform your employee if it will have any effect on their income statement, as they may have already lodged their tax return. If this is the case, they must also make an amendment.

Important information for your employees

-        You are no longer required to provide them with a payment summary for the information you have reported  and finalised.

-        They can access their year-to-date and end-of-year income statement through MyGov or with their registered tax agent.

-        They should wait until their income statement is ‘tax ready’ before lodging their tax return.

-        To check their personal details with the ATO and with you (the business owner), and update if necessary.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Membership Increase for Self-Managed Super Funds and APRA Funds

Starting from the 1st of July 2021, The maximum number of members allowed in a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) and an APRA fund will increase from four to six.

The way the structure works is a SMSF can have individual trustees or a corporate trustee where all members are directors of that corporate trustee.

A SMSF is a type of trust, therefore it is important that you seek professional advice to understand how any changes may impact you.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Extension to Make Minimum Yearly Repayments of Division 7A Loans

What is a division 7A loan?

A division 7A loan is a loan by a private company that follows the division 7A requirements. These requirements can be found on the ATO website. Under this division, the borrower must make minimum yearly repayments, before the lenders income year is over.

What are the changes?

For the 2019/2020 year borrowers could apply for an extension for their minimum yearly repayment. If the extension was granted, then you must make up the shortfall by the 30th of June 2021.

However, this extension has been given for another year due to COVID. Therefore, people can apply for an extension in relation to the minimum yearly payment for the 2020/2021 financial year. Borrowers who used the extension in the 2019/2020 year may chose to apply for another extension. This extension means that unless another administrative relief package is given for next year, these debts must be paid by the 30th of June 2022.

In order to test your eligibility for the relief package you can go to the ATO website or use the link below.

https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/Request-to-extend-time-to-make-2020-21-minimum-yearly-repayments-for-COVID-19-affected-borrowers-under-section-109RD/

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

What COVID-19 Relief is Available to you?

COVID-19 disaster payment – do you qualify?

-        Is available for eligible workers who are unable to go to work or have lost income due to the lockdown and do not already have access to paid leave.

-        You need to be living in a hotspot. Additionally, the payment is only accessible if the hotspot triggering the lockdown lasts more than 7 days, declared by the Chief Medical Officer.

-        The last criteria to be eligible is that you must have less than $10,000 of liquid assets

The payment is:

-        Those eligible for the payment with receive $500 if they’ve lost 20 hours or more of work, and $325 if they’ve lost less than 20 hours of work.

-        Note: that this payment does not include the first week of the lockdown.

The pandemic leave disaster payment – Who is eligible?

The payment is for people who have been advised by their relevant health authority that they need to self-isolate or quarantine because:

-        You have COVID-19

-        You are a close contact of someone with COVID-19

-        You care for a child, 16 years old or younger, who has COVID-19

-        You care for a child, 16 years old or younger, who is a close contact of someone with COVID-19

You may also qualify if you are the carer of someone who is impacted.

If you are eligible for the payment:

-        You will receive $1,500 for each 14 day period that you have been told to self-isolate or quarantine, or have been caring for someone with COVID-19.

-        The pandemic leave disaster payment will need to be included in your taxable income (is not tax free)

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Australia Tax Revenue for 2019-2020

Australia - Taxation Revenue 2019-2020

The ABS has released a summary of Australia’s taxation revenue for the 2019-20 Financial Year.

Key statistics

-          Total taxation revenue for the year was $552.0 billion.

-          Total taxation revenue decrease from previous financial year equals $8.0 billion (1.4% decrease).

-          Total taxation revenue as a percentage of GDP is equal to 27.8%.

 Key contributors the fall in revenue

-          Company income tax was down $7.1 billion (-7.5%) because of COVID and the huge impact it had on tourism, hospitality, insurance, etc.

-          Income tax paid by superannuation funds was down $4.3 billion due to weakness in financial markets.

-          GST was down $1.1 billion due to reduced consumer spending at places such as restaurants, clothing stores, take-away, and more.

-          Personal income tax was down $0.3 billion reflecting a fall in hours worked across the economy and lower capital gains.

-          Payroll taxes across state and local governments were down $0.9 billion. This was largely caused by various tax relief and payroll refund policies.

-          Gambling taxes were also down $0.9 billion, as many pubs and casinos were shut down or had reduced capacity.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Export Market Development Grant Changes

Export Market Development Grant Changes (EMDG)

As of the 1st of July 2021, there will be a new program to provide greater upfront certainty for exporters to be able to plan their offshore promotional activities. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) will be able to apply for a maximum of $770,000 in grants, per applicant. This can be done over 8 years and they do not have to be consecutive.

The grants will be available in three tiers, designed to provide the correct amount of support to SMEs as they grow their export markets:

-          Tier 1 – for eligible SMEs who are new to exporting, grants of up to $40,000 per year for two years.

-          Tier 2 – for eligible exporters who plan to expand their presence in current markets, or enter new markets, grants of up to $80,000 per year for three years.

-          Tier 3 – for eligible exporters who plan to make a strategic shift in their exporting business, grants of up to $150,000 per year for three years.

SMEs will only be eligible if they are export-ready and have a turnover of less than $20 million.

How will it work after the changes?

It becomes an eligibility-based grants program, and the process is set out below:

-          You apply for the grant before you spend money on promotional activities.

-          Austrade assesses all applications and offers a grant agreement to each eligible applicant.

-          You accept the agreement and conduct the promotional activities as promised in the agreement.

-          You request milestone payments in accordance with your grant agreement.

-          Your grant agreement will state when your milestone payments will be paid out and what you should to, to receive your payments.

Assistance for industry bodies and alliances

Assistance is provided to industry bodies and alliances will be expanded to provide help for members who are new to export, to become export ready. The grants for members to enable them to undertake promotional activities in international markets are up to $150,000.

What are the rules for EMDG after the changes?

After the 1st of July 2021, the EMDG will be governed by three documents:

-          The Export Market Development Grants Act 1997 (the EMDG Act) remains in place until the amendments passed by parliament come into effect on the 17th of June 2021.

-          The Export Market Development Grant Rules 2021 (the EMDG Rules).

-          The Export Market Development Grants Guidelines (the EMDG Guidelines).

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Increase in the Superannuation Contribution Cap

Increase in the Superannuation Contributions Cap

A concessional contribution is a contribution made into your super fund before tax. These contributions into your super fund are taxed at a flat rate of 15%.

What is the cap on these contributions and how is it changing?

Between the 1st of July 2017 and the 30th of June 2021, the concessional contribution cap has been $25,000 per year.

However, from the 1st of July 2021, the concessional contribution cap will be increasing by $2,500 to $27,500.

Your cap may be higher depending on whether you have used the full amount of the cap in earlier years. This is referred to as carry-forward unused concessional contributions and you may be eligible for these if your total super balance on 30 June of the previous financial year was below $500,000. You can check your available concessional contributions cap on ATO online services, which can be accessed through myGov.

What if you exceed your concessional contribution cap?

If you exceed your concessional contribution cap, the ATO will send you a letter (determination) and a notice of assessment. This will most likely be sent to your myGov inbox. This message will advise:

-          Your excess concessional contributions

-          Your excess concessional contributions charge

-          What your available options are

If you receive a letter, you must lodge a tax return for that financial year.

Division 293

Division 293 tax applies if your adjusted taxable income and concessional contributions equal more than $250,000 you may have to pay up to an extra 15% tax on your contributions.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Reasons the housing market may not continue to boom

Reasons the housing market gains may not be as strong for the remainder of 2021

The housing market has been booming recently, with a 5.6% gain in the March quarter across major capital cities. The March month alone had the biggest gain in 32 years. Forecasts from Westpac now expect a 15% gain for the year.

However, there are several reasons this may not continue.

Reason number 1 – Sellers return

There is expected to be a certain amount of rebalancing in supply and demand in the short-term. This will occur as the prices get too high and more people are inclined to sell. This will allow the supply to increase and help ease upward pressure on housing prices.

Reason number 2 – Reducing affordability

The sharp increase in prices lately will begin to discourage buyers. This is understandable as dwelling prices have been increasing by as much as $1,000 a day recently. The ‘time to buy a dwelling’ index has decreased by 20% from its high in November last year. As more people begin to be priced out of the market, or decide to wait to buy a home, demand will begin to decrease.

This is inevitable as house prices increase not only due to people’s choices or income, but lending serviceability assessments too. If incomes do not rise as fast as house prices, less and less people will be able to meet the banks strict serviceability requirements. This will result in borrowers not reaching the borrowing capacity they need from a lender to be able to buy a house.

Reason number 3 – Macro prudential policy tightening

It is almost expected at some point in the next year or so, the Reserve Bank will have to increase the cash rate. As investors begin/continue to jump into the booming market, the market will continue to go up in price. The reason the bank reduced the cash rate to a record low of 0.1% in November 2020, was due to fears the housing as well as the equity markets would collapse, as well as trying to spur investment to create jobs and keep the economy afloat. As the economy has mostly recovered and house prices have boomed and will continue to increase, the RBA will need to intervene. They intervene for three main reasons:

-          To reduce the volatility in the housing market i.e. large downturns

-          If credit is increasing too fast and the population is becoming overleveraged

-          To control inflation

Reason number 4 – potential oversupply

The final reason is not a huge factor at the moment; however, it may be becoming increasingly important. Our population has grown extremely slowly compared with previous years, as a result of COVID restrictions. In addition to this, the governments HomeBuilder scheme has substantially increased new dwelling completions to over 180,000 this year. Unless migration is allowed to continue in the next year or so, we will likely continue to build more houses to support a stagnant population.

Conclusion

The recent boom can likely be attributed to a bounce back after COVID hit last year. However, strong periods of growth are usually followed by an extended period of flattening. It is likely that house prices will be most affected in the short-term by interest rate changes.

Source: Westpac

Small Business Charges Rebate

NSW Government Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate

What is it?

As of April 2021 a rebate from the NSW government has been available. This rebate applies to small businesses and allows for a maximum rebate of $1,500. The rebate can be used to offset the costs of eligible NSW and local government fees. Eligible fees include, but are not limited to:

-          Liquor licences

-          Tradesperson licences

-          Outdoor seating fees

-          Council rates

-          Food authority licences

-          Event fees

This rebate can be used for eligible fees and charges that were due and paid after the 1st of March 2021. It cannot be used for fines that have a key purpose of discouraging negative behaviour, Commonwealth government charges, rent on government premises, or taxes. Eligible businesses can submit multiple claims until they have reached the full rebate of $1,500. The rebate is available until 30 June 2022.

Are you eligible?

A small business and not-for-profit organisation must fit the following criteria to be classed as eligible:

-          Have total Australian wages below the NSW government 2020-2021 payroll tax threshold of $1.2 million

-          Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)  registered in NSW and/or have business premises physically located and operating in NSW

-          Be registered for goods and services tax (this is not a requirement for not-for-profits)

-          Provide a declaration that the business has a turnover of at least $75,000 per year.

What documentation is needed?

Each time the rebate is applied for, you must supply:

-          A MyServiceNSW Account

-          Your proof of identity

-          Your valid ABN/CAN

-          Your business banking details for payment

It must be noted that two proof of identity documents are required. These documents can include:

-          Australian divers licence

-          Medicare card

-          Australian passport

-          Australian birth certificate

-          Australian travel visa

-          Australian citizen certificate

-          Australian certificate of registration by descent

-          Australian ImmiCard

How to apply?

-          Firstly, you will need to confirm you have all documentation and have met eligibility criteria.

-          You will then go through your MyServiceNSW account and apply online.

-          With your documentation already with you, you will be able to easily follow the steps to apply and finish your application.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Australian Federal Budget 2021-22 - Highlights and key measures

The Federal Government presented its 2021-22 budget last night, emphasing spending to bolster the economic recovery that is underway.

IN BRIEF

·    $161 billion deficit with net debt to peak at $980.6 billion by June 2025

·    GDP growth forecast at 4.25% in 2021-22

·    Unemployment expected to fall to 4.75% in mid 2023.

The 2021-22 Federal Budget deficit is $161 billion falling to $57 billion in 2024-25 with net debt predicted to peak at $980.6 billion (40.9% GDP) by June 2025. 

The Federal Budget includes a bold GDP growth forecast of 4.25% in 2021-22 with unemployment forecast to fall to 4.75% in mid-2023.

KEY POINTS

1. $1.9 billion vaccine rollout

The government is investing an additional $1.9 billion in the vaccination program including funding to distribute and administer vaccines, record and monitor progress, communicate key public messages and support states and territories in the roll‑out

2. $17.7 billion to improve aged care

The government is allocating additional funding of $17.7 billion for a comprehensive aged care reform package in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. This will include another 80,000 new home care packages, increased time nurses and carers spend with residents, support more than 33,000 new training places for personal carers, a new indigenous workforce and additional $10 per resident per day payment to enhance the viability and sustainability of the residential aged care sector.

3. Patent box with 17% tax rate for new patents

A patent box is being introduced to encourage businesses to undertake their R&D in Australia and keep patents here. The patent box will tax income derived from Australian medical and biotech patents at a 17% effective concessional corporate tax rate.

4. Cessation of employment removed as tax point for Employee Share Schemes

To support Australian companies to attract and retain talent, the government is removing the cessation of employment taxing point for tax-deferred Employee Share Schemes (ESS) that are available for all companies.

5. Full expensing and loss carry back extended to 2023

Temporary full expensing and temporary loss carry-back are being extended for a further year to June 2023.

6. 5,000 additional higher education short courses

7. Low- and middle-income tax offset extended to 2022

The low- and middle-income tax offset (LMITO) is extended for a further year to June 2022. Around 10.2 million individuals are expected to benefit from retaining the offset, worth up to $1,080 for individuals or $2,160 for dual income couples.

8. New bright-line test for individual tax residency

The government will replace the individual tax residency rules with a new, easier to understand framework that provides certainty and reduces compliance costs for globally mobile individuals and their employers. The primary test will be a simple ‘bright line’ test: a person who is physically present in Australia for 183 days or more in any income year will be an Australian tax resident.

9. $450 per month minimum removed for superannuation guarantee

The government is removing the $450 per month Ordinary Time Earnings threshold for the superannuation guarantee.

10. Women’s budget

As expected, the Budget also included new measures to improve women’s safety, economic security, health and wellbeing with a $3.4 billion package. This includes $1.1 billion in funding for women’s safety; $1.9 billion to support women’s economic security including $1.7 billion to improve the affordability of childcare for Australian families and $351.6 million in women’s health and wellbeing measures

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au

Source : Chartered Accountants ANZ

ASIC Director Resignation Changes

In February 2020, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Combatting Illegal Phoenixing) Act 2020 was passed by Parliament, and took effect from the 18th of February 2021. The legislation introduces new offences and grants ASIC and liquidators with additional powers to combat systemic fraud and illegal phoenixing.

The new amendments aim to prevent these illegal activities by holding company directors accountable, preventing them from incorrectly backdating their resignation or leaving their company with no directors.

The changes mean that as of 18 February 2021 companies can no longer cease the last remaining director on ASIC records. To enforce this, lodgements submitted including change to company details, or form 370 notification by officeholder of resignation or retirement, to cease the last appointed director without replacing that director will be rejected.

However, there are three exceptions to this rule, including if:

-          The last director is deceased

-          The company is being wound up or under external administration

-          The officeholder never consented to their appointment

In order to cease a director under the three exceptions stated above, you will need to contact ASIC, either by phone or by doing an online inquiry.

If a director’s cessation date is notified to ASIC more than 28 days after the effective date, then the effective date will be overridden and replaced with the lodgement date.

Directors can apply to ASIC or the court to change a resignation date, however there will be an application fee.

For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au