ATO to focus on cash-only businesses

To protect honest, compliant Australian businesses, the Australian Taxation Office has placed a strong emphasis on targeting the cash and hidden economy.

The ATO is visiting businesses that deal predominantly in cash, with a focus on those that:

• Fail to meet super or employer obligations, and that fail to register for GST or lodge activity statements.
• Operate outside regular small business benchmarks specific to their industry.
• Show discrepancies between what they have reported and our collected data relating to electronic payments.
• Operate and advertise as cash only.
• Income does not correlate with the lifestyle of the business owner, i.e. assets and spending habits exceed what is expected of someone with their reported income.
• Are reported to the ATO by members of the community or any third party regarding potential tax evasion.
• Are part of an industry that is known for dealing primarily in cash only.

When out visiting cash-only businesses, the ATO will be working in unison with local authorities and industry associations to asks questions and discuss:

• Why the business operates primarily or only in cash.
• The need to lodge tax returns and activity statements.
• How to be compliant in relation to tax and super obligations.
• Different claims and tax deductions businesses can make.
• The general community preference to have EFTPOS or electronic payment options available to them.
• Benefits of electronic payment and record keeping facilities.
• Relaying tools and services businesses can use if they are struggling to ensure they are compliant with Australian tax laws.
• Any other help they may need.

If the ATO comes across a business that is doing the wrong thing or failing to meet their obligations, they have a duty to take action. This may result in the business facing an audit and possible prosecution.

If you have made a mistake and make a voluntary disclosure detailing your errors, the ATO will work with you to rectify this and create a solution.

Assistance for new business owners

The ATO has established the ‘Business Assistance Program’ to help new business owners understand their tax obligations associated with running a business.

Small businesses that have recently registered for an ABN, registered for GST or likely to register for GST in the near future and have a turnover of less than $2 million a year can access this program.

The ‘Business Assistance Program’ offers tailored tax support over a 12 month period and can help with:

• Tax obligations based on your business structure
• Registering for GST and GST obligations
• Employer obligations
• Super obligations
• Record keeping requirements
• Understanding business activity statements
• Using the ATO’s digital services.

Within 48 hours of submitting the online registration form for the program, you will receive a welcome email containing tax topics, links to useful information and information about the program.

Selling your home and CGT

When it comes time to sell your home, you may be wondering if you will need to pay capital gains tax (CGT).

Generally, if you live in the home you are selling you will not have to pay CGT under the main residence exemption.

The ATO considers a dwelling as your main residence if:
– you and your family live in it
– your personal belongings are in it
– it’s the address your mail is delivered to
– it’s your address on the electoral roll, and
– services such as gas and power are connected.

If the home has been used to produce assessable income such as running a business from it, renting it out or flipping it, you may not be entitled to the full main residence exemption from CGT. This means you will have to pay CGT on part of any capital gain made when your sell your home.

For those who use their home to produce income, i.e., renting out part or all of it, you can work out the capital gain that is not exempt by taking into account the following factors:
– proportion of the floor area that is set aside to produce income
– period you use it for this purpose
– whether you’re eligible for the ‘absence’ rule
– whether it was first used to produce income after 20 August 1996.

Protecting honest businesses

In its effort to facilitate a fair business environment, the ATO has offered continued support for honest businesses.

With an estimated $40 billion lost to the hidden economy, the need for strong diligence and continued governance over Australian businesses is essential. The Black Economy Taskforce that was established in May 2017 and various trends have since been better understood regarding strategies dishonest businesses and individuals are using to evade their tax responsibilities.

Trends show that problematic areas include:

• The sharing economy: the money exchanged through services such as Airbnb, Airtasker and Uber are all taxable. Ensure you understand how to be compliant before engaging with these services.
• Cash transactions: employers paying employees in cash to avoid tax and super responsibilities costs the economy an astronomical amount, as well as contractors accepting cash payments and not accurately documenting these.
• Incorrect reporting: individuals and businesses failing to report their business dealings correctly are creating huge liabilities in the economy. Small reporting dishonesties by a great portion of taxpayers creates a large balance of unaccountable money; the majority of unaccountable money in relation to tax evasion.

Reporting SMSF changes

Self-managed super fund trustees must notify the Australian Tax Office (ATO) if there are changes to their SMSF.

Trustees must provide written notice within 28 days if there are changes to:

• the name of the fund
• the address of the fund
• details of the contact person
• the membership of the fund
• the trustees of the fund
• the directors of the fund’s corporate trustees
• your SMSF’s bank account details and Electronic service address.

The above details are used by the ATO to determine if your fund meets the definition of an SMSF.

Providing incomplete or inaccurate information may make it impossible for your fund to receive rollovers or contributions.

If any of these details change for your SMSF, contact our office to update your details.

Imported services and GST

Under the new law introduced on 1 July 2017, Australian GST registered businesses that import services or digital products for business purposes do not have to pay GST.

These businesses will need to supply their Australian business number (ABN) and a statement that they are registered for GST to the supplier at the time of purchase to ensure they are not charged GST.

Overseas businesses registered under the simplified GST system for non-residents do not have an ABN and cannot issue a tax invoice. If a business believes that GST has been charged, they will need to contact the supplier and seek a refund if appropriate.

However, if an Australian business is not registered for GST or their purchases are not for business use, they will need to pay GST and will not be able to claim it back.

Ride sourcing – Claiming car expenses

Those who participate in ride-sourcing (i.e., Uber, GoCatch) as a driver can access a number of tax deductions come tax time.

You may be able to claim expenses such as:
– Parking fees
– Road tolls
– Mobile phone costs
– Fees or commissions charged the facilitator
– Other expenses – to the extent that they relate to work-related travel.

Under the logbook method (the business-use percentage of car expenses) include:
– Petrol
– Depreciation of your car
– General vehicle running costs such as insurance, car rego and repairs
– Maintenance.

Expenses you cannot claim include:
– Fines, such as parking and speeding fines
– Fuel tax credits
– The cost of getting and maintaining a standard driving licence
– Costs of a capital nature, such as car purchase price
– Personal or private expenses, such as the private use of a car used for ride-sourcing activities.

If you use your car for both personal and work-related use, you will need to apportion your car expenses appropriately. If the owner of the car is a spouse or de-facto partner, you can still claim deductions for the car as it is considered a joint asset.

You may be eligible for a range of concessions, i.e., simpler depreciation – instant asset write-off if you are a small business entity in an income year. Be sure to review your eligibility each year.

Sharing economy and tax

The ATO is reminding those who work in the sharing economy to be aware of their tax obligations.

The sharing economy connects buyers (users) and sellers (providers) through a facilitator who usually operates an app or a website. Some popular examples include Airbnb, Stayz, Uber, Deliveroo, Airtasker and so on.

Different rules apply, depending on what type of sharing economy activities are undertaken by an individual.

Those who rent out part or all of their home are reminded to:
– declare what they earn in their tax return;
– apportion related expenses as appropriate before claiming deductions and
– understand it may affect their capital gains tax if they sell their home in the future.

Individuals who participate in ride-sourcing activities need an ABN, to register for GST from the day they start, to pay GST on the full amount of every fare and to keep records of income and expenses for both GST and income tax purposes. GST credits associated with your ride-sourcing enterprise are deductible.

Those providing other goods and services through the sharing economy need to remember to declare what they earn and apportion related expenses.

Single Touch Payroll for streamlined reporting

From 1 July 2018, employers with 20 or more employees will report payments to the Australian Taxation Office at the same time as they pay their employees, using the Single Touch Payroll reporting system.

This reporting system will keep track of payments such as:

• Salary and wages
• Super contributions
• Deductions, e.g. workplace giving
• Pay as you go (PAYG)
• Allowances

The introduction of this new reporting measure does not incite changes to an employer’s payroll cycle; you can still make payments as you were, i.e., weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc. When you do make these payments, the super and tax details of employees will be passed on, creating a more streamlined approach to make reporting and compliance more manageable.

For businesses with less than 20 employees, the single touch payroll reporting system will be in place by 1 July 2019.

Claiming the small business income tax offset

The small business income tax offset can help reduce the tax small businesses pay on business income by up to $1,000.

This offset is available from the 2015-16 income year onwards. Small businesses with an aggregated turnover less than $5 million can access the concession from the 2016-17 income year.

Business income derived by another partnership or trust, in which the small business owner is not a partner or beneficiary, is not eligible for the offset.

Small business owners can claim the offset if they receive a share of net small business income from a small business:

• partnership, in which they are a partner
• trust, in which they are a beneficiary.

The offset is 8 per cent for the 2016-17 income year onwards, 5 per cent for the 2015-16 income year. The offset will increase to 10 per cent in 2024-25, 13 per cent in 2025-26 and 16 per cent in 2026-27.