Do you have to pay the Flood Levy?

As of 1 July 2011, the government

Support for women in small to medium businesses

The Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis and the Minister for Small Business, Nick Sherry have announced that the Australian Government will contribute $20,000 to a project promoting greater participation of women in Australian trade and business.

With more than 700,000 female business operators in Australia, businesswomen make a powerful contribution to the Australian economy.

The Australian Women

Aussie customers lost to overseas stores

Big businesses like Myer and David Jones are considering new ways of attracting customers after The Commonwealth Bank released information showing a massive turn in the way Australians are doing their shopping.

It is estimated that last year, Australians spent $9.5 billion on online shopping sites, $4.2 billion of this on overseas sites. The ease and widespread access of the internet, coupled with a growing trust for online retailers, is seeing shoppers take advantage of the high Australian dollar and reap bargins from overseas stores.

While slashing prices hasn

Tax deductible expenses

Not all purchases made by a business will be tax deductible. Those that are must be related to the earning of income, but even then there are some exceptions.

Some costs have a private component, such as motor vehicle expenses, that must be apportioned between business and private use. Other costs may be totally related to a business, such as the registering of a patent or trademark, but are classed as a capital and therefore not tax deductible.

Some examples of expenses that could be claimed however, include employee salaries and super contributions, advertising, rent or leases, bank fees, interest on loans, freight and insurance, repairs, promotions and giveaways, depreciation of assests and the costs of a registered tax agent.

For more information on what expenses are tax deductible for your business and what records you should be keeping for these, please feel free to contact our office.

GST fraudsters caught out

Goods and service tax (GST) fraudsters are more than likely than ever to be caught out this year, as the ATO plans to increase its audits on GST refund claims by small businesses and investigate cases of serious evasion. As a result of government funding, an extra 11,500 cases will be completed in the 2011-12 financial year. Last year, 28 people were prosecuted for more than $17 million worth of GST-related fraud offences.

Super contributions due

This tax year the ATO will be targeting employers who fail to pay super for contract workers. Many employers fail to realise that some contractors are considered employees under super guarantee law.

If employers fail to pay their super obligations, they will have to lodge a Super Guarantee Charge Statement. This will pay the super guarantee charge to the ATO.

Employers should seek advice in order to determine whether their contractors are eligible for super contributions.