JobMaker Hiring Credit passed
The government has passed legislation to establish
the JobMaker Hiring Credit, which is part of the
government’s economic response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
The JobMaker Hiring Credit is specifically designed
to encourage businesses to take on additional
young employees and increase employment.
It does this by providing employers with a fixed
amount of $200 per week for an eligible employee
aged 16 to 29 years and $100 per week for an
eligible employee aged 30 to 35 years, paid
quarterly in arrears by the ATO.
To be eligible, the employee must have been
receiving JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance
(Other) or Parenting Payment for at least one of
the previous three months, assessed on the date
of employment. Employees also need to have
worked for a minimum of 20 hours per week of paid
work to be eligible, averaged over a quarter, and
can only be eligible with one employer at a time.
The hiring credit is not available to an employer
who does not increase their headcount and payroll.
Employers and employees will be prohibited from
entering into contrived schemes in order to gain
access to or increase the amount payable.
Existing rights and safeguards for employees under
the Fair Work Act will continue to apply, including
protection from unfair dismissal and the full range
of general protections.
ATO Visa Data Matching Program
The ATO will acquire visa data from the Department
of Home Affairs for 2020/21 through to 2022/23,
relating to approximately 10 million individuals for
each financial year.
The data will be used to identify non-compliance
with obligations under taxation and superannuation
laws, including registration, lodgment, reporting
and payment responsibilities.
How to avoid getting dodgy advice
The ATO is warning taxpayers who may be
thinking about pausing, changing or closing their
business, due to the current economic conditions,
to be wary of untrustworthy advisers who may
recommend inappropriate or illegal behaviour.
This could include illegal phoenix activity, where
businesses intentionally remove their assets prior
to winding up so that they can be used in a copy
of the original business.
Red flags include:
- people the taxpayer doesn't know cold calling with advice;
- unsolicited letters, emails or phone calls after the taxpayer has been through court action with a creditor;
- advice to transfer assets to a third party without payment;
- refusal to provide advice in writing;
- advice suggesting they have a sympathetic liquidator who will protect the taxpayer's personal interests and assets;
- advice to withhold certain records from the bankruptcy trustee or liquidator, or provide incorrect information to authorities; and
- advice to deal with the liquidator or trustee on the taxpayer's behalf.
The ATO instead recommends anyone thinking of pausing, changing or closing their business to contact a qualified professional, such as an accountant, lawyer, or registered liquidator.
STP data-sharing with Services Australia
Single Touch Payroll ('STP') allows the ATO to share
data in real-time with other government agencies,
to "help them deliver government services to the
Australian community".
As part of the ATO's data-matching program, it has
a STP data-sharing arrangement with Services
Australia to help them administer Australia's welfare
system.
This means that people who are on an income
support payment from Services Australia and need
to report their employment income fortnightly to
Centrelink will now see their employer details are
pre-filled.
Proposed FBT exemption — retraining and reskilling
The government has announced it will introduce
an exemption from FBT for retraining and reskilling
benefits provided by employers to redundant, or
soon to be redundant, employees where the benefits
may not be related to their current employment.
It is proposed that this exemption will not apply to:
- retraining provided under a salary packaging arrangement;
- training provided through Commonwealth supported places at universities; or
- repayments towards Commonwealth student loans.
If enacted, this proposed measure is intended to apply from the day it was announced (i.e., 2 October 2020).
Getting the margin scheme right
Editor: The margin scheme may allow a property
owner to pay less GST when they sell the property
— paying GST of 1/11th of their margin on the sale,
rather than 1/11th of the total sale price.
If a property owner wants to use the margin scheme
when selling property, they must be eligible before
the property is offered for sale.
This may be where they're selling new property as
part of their business and they're registered for GST.
Importantly, among other criteria, there must be a
written agreement before settlement between the
supplier and purchaser to use the margin scheme
— this could be part of the contract.
To avoid the common errors suppliers make when
selling property using the margin scheme, the ATO
is reminding suppliers that they must also:
- calculate the margin correctly; and
- report the amount of the margin on the sale on their BAS — not the full amount of payment received.
Editor: We can help determine your eligibility and also calculate the margin. Also remember that, when someone purchases property using the margin scheme, they:
- can't claim GST credits for the sale; and
- don't report it on their activity statement.
Please Note: Many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances.