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Headlines only explain so much. In this special update, we examine where the 2019-20 Federal Budget left us, and the pivotal policies from the ALP on tax, superannuation and business. There are no guarantees, however, that any policies or announcements not already legislated wil...

Women and girls make up just over half (50.7%) of the Australian population. While women comprise roughly 47% of all employees in Australia, they take home on average $251.20 less than men each week (full-time adult ordinary earnings). The national gender “pay gap” is 15.3% and it has remaine...

If your business assists employees during an emergency, for example floods, bushfires, etc., then Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) is unlikely to apply to the assistance you provide. While we doubt anyone would be thinking about FBT during a crisis, it’s good to know that the tax system does not dis...

A budget, an election and the legislation that hasn’t made it through. The February 2019 parliamentary sitting days were the last opportunity before the Federal Budget for the Government to introduce or push through new legislation. Next month, on 2 April, Parliament reconvenes for the Federa...

From 1 July 2019, single touch payroll – the direct reporting of salary and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contribution information to the ATO – will apply to all employers. What employers need to report will also be extended to include certain salary sacrificed amounts. Emplo...

Another year, another scam. While data driven crime is more sophisticated and difficult to address than ever, human error and judgement remains one of the major problems. The latest data breach report from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is surprising for the simp...

Tampon tax (GST on sanitary products) scrapped Voluntary crackdown begins on credit card providers to protect consumers who cannot pay-off their credit card debt or who cannot afford an increased limit Higher Education Loan Program: New lifetime caps prevent students repeating courses or con...

Do you earn income overseas? A recent case highlights why you might pay more tax than you thought on foreign income. If you are an Australian resident and earn income from overseas, such as income from investments, sale of assets such as property, distributions from foreign trusts, etc., you...

Life does not always go to plan. While we logically know that, most of us don’t plan for the worst - it’s all a bit morbid and time consuming. The downside of not planning is the potential for hard earned assets to be squandered, family fall-outs, and money handed to the Government that could ...

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is utilising data provided by the Australian Investments and Security Commission (ASIC) to data match share trades. The ATO is accessing more than 500 million records detailing price, quantity and time of individual trades dating back to 2014. The information comp...