Key Taxation dates in May 2018

May
5-Jun	Final due date for all taxpayers required to lodge on 15 May 2017 to lodge 2015/16 income tax returns
12-Jun	Queen’s Birthday | Public holiday in NSW. MartinCo offices will be closed.
21-Jun	Due date to lodge and pay monthly activity statements for May
25-Jun	Due date to lodge fringe benefits tax returns for the FBT year ended 31 March 2017 (if lodged by MartinCo)
30-Jun	Final due date for superannuation funds to lodge 2015/16 income tax returns Final date all superannuation contributions must be paid as cleared funds to qualify as a tax deduction in the 2017-18 financial year. Last day of the 2016/17 financial year

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Key Taxation dates in May 2018

May
9-May	The Federal Budget is handed down. No doubt some significant changes that will affect our clients.
15-May	Due date for most taxpayers to lodge income tax returns for the 2015/16 financial year
21-May	Due date to lodge and pay monthly activity statements for April
26-May	Due date to lodge and pay quarterly activity statements for the March quarter (if lodged by MartinCo)
28-May	Due date to lodge fringe benefits tax returns for the FBT year ended 31 March 2017 (if lodged by client)

 

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Key Taxation dates in April 2018

April
21-April	Lodge and pay quarter 3, 2017–18 PAYG instalment activity statement for head companies of consolidated groups.
28-April	Make super guarantee contributions for quarter 3, 2017–18 to the funds by this date.
30-April	Lodge TFN report for closely held trusts if any beneficiaries quoted their TFNs to trustees in quarter 3, 2017–18.

 

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Key Taxation dates in March 2018

March
21-March	Lodge and pay February 2018 monthly activity statement.
31-March	Lodge tax return for companies and super funds with total income of more than $2 million in the latest year lodged (excluding large/medium taxpayers), unless the return was due earlier.

 

Please Contact MartinCo for more information >

We offer our clients the best Accounting and Financial advice by staying up to date with trending news topics. We do this to help our clients build their wealth and achieve their goals.

Cash might be king, but the use of cash by businesses is attracting attention from the ATO. It will begin visits of selected businesses to ensure that all tax obligations are met. Third-party data and risk analysis is being used to identify the types of businesses the ATO will visit, which will not be limited to one particular industry this time around.

In this competitive economic environment some businesses are increasingly turning to cash payments to dodge their tax obligations. This is becoming such an issue that the ATO has started a program of visiting businesses across Australia that may be using cash inappropriately or operating in the hidden economy.

A wide variety of resources including third-party data and risk analysis will be used by the ATO to identify the type of businesses it will visit. These include businesses that:

• operate and advertise as “cash only” or mainly deal in cash;
• do not take electronic payments according to data-matching;
• are part of an industry where cash payments are common;
• indicate unrealistic income relative to the assets and lifestyle of the business and its owner;
• fail to register for GST or lodge activity statements or tax returns;
• under-report transactions and income according to third-party data;
• fail to meet super or employer obligations;
• operate outside the normal small business benchmarks for their industry; and
• are reported by the community for potential tax evasion.

A wide net is being cast to target all businesses that could potentially be avoiding their tax and superannuation obligations. In the course of the visits, where there are suspicions of wrongdoing, the ATO will follow up, initially by a letter which could include recommendations such as:

• lodging a voluntary disclosure to mitigate the risk of an audit or potential prosecution;
• investing in an electronic payment and record keeping system to reduce the risk of mistakes and meet consumer preference; and
• attending ATO record keeping information sessions.

In the last round of visits, three common issues of not having separate personal and business accounts, not recording all sales or keeping proper books, and having employees working off the books were found, and over 60% of businesses visited required some kind of corrective action.

The hair and beauty, restaurant, cafe, takeaway and catering, and the building and construction industries all reported an increase in timely lodgement of activity statements after being targeted by the ATO for specific attention.

As a part of the visits, the ATO will also be working with industry associations and local authorities to educate businesses on the use of electronic payment and record keeping facilities, online lodgement, superannuation obligations to employees; proper registration and meeting of obligations, and help with business specific issues.

Need help?

To ensure that you and your businesses are not targeted under this operation, or that if you are targeted, you do not get a follow-up, the following broad suggestions may help:

• deposit all cash payments into bank accounts;
• keep evidence to support all income, expenses and lifestyles;
• account for any stock used for private purposes; and
• work out the performance of the business relative to other similar businesses in the same industry using the small business benchmarks.

If you need help with documenting your business income, expenses and stock or calculating whether your business is performing within the small business benchmarks, don’t hesitate to contact us today.

At MartinCo we’re the Sydney Accountancy and Finance firm that makes a difference for their clients. We help you build your wealth so that you can achieve your goals! With the convenience of two Sydney offices, one in Hurstville and the other in Edgecliff, we’re more than equipped for you to contact us today!

If you have any questions feel free to contact MartinCo for more information.

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At MartinCO, we stay up to date with the latest information so we can offer our clients the best financial advice and help them achieve their goals.

Bitcoin is “neither money nor a foreign currency” the ATO warns, but it is still an asset that can be treated as income or counted as capital gains. In Part 3 of our series on bitcoin, we look at the compliance implications of operating bitcoin and how the ATO intends to monitor cryptocurrencies in general.

Part 1 of our series on bitcoin looked at the tax consequences for those who invest in bitcoin on a personal level. Part 2 examined the tax consequences for businesses that buy and sell bitcoin, mine bitcoin, and what happens when bitcoin is used in transactions. With recent news of the ATO’s new cryptocurrency task force, here in Part 3 we cover compliance.

Cryptocurrency task force

It has been reported recently that the ATO has created a specialist task force to identify and track cryptocurrency transactions and counter tax evasion in this area. The ATO will work closely with banks but it also has a team of experts on hand, including tax experts, lawyers, financial advisers and technology specialists. They met for the first time in February 2018. A spokesman commenting on the topics for discussion advised:

“We will discuss common queries and scenarios, practical issues and the tax implications for current and anticipated future developments in relation to cryptocurrencies.”

Liabilities for transactions

While the ATO is formulating their strategy in this area, you might want to know what liabilities you could face if you have already invested in bitcoin and its value has either risen (resulting in a gain) – or what will happen if it has fallen (leading to a loss) – following a deal.

Example

A property seller receiving $1 million in cash may have to pay tax on the profit at the end of the tax year based on the sale being completed for $1 million. A seller who receives $1 million in bitcoin that doubles in value from the day the property settlement takes place may have to pay CGT not only on the $1 million property sale, but potentially also on the $1 million gain on the bitcoin if it is later spent or converted to cash.

How will ATO keep track?

The ATO has access to data matching already and they can gain access to bank accounts to look for transactions relating to payments made or received, for example to trace purchases of property or luxury cars.

At MartinCo we’re the Sydney Accountancy and Finance firm that makes a difference for their clients. We help you build your wealth so that you can achieve your goals! With the convenience of two Sydney offices, one in Hurstville and the other in Edgecliff, we’re more than equipped for you to contact us today!

If you have any questions feel free to contact MartinCo for more information.

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Key Taxation dates in February 2018

February
28-Feb	Lodge tax return for non-taxable large/medium entities as per the latest year lodged (except individuals).

 

Please Contact MartinCo for more information >

Key Taxation dates in January 2018

January
26-Jan	Australia Day Public Holiday
28-Jan	Make quarter 2, 2017–18 super guarantee contributions to funds by this date

 

Please Contact MartinCo for more information >