Reduction in small business company tax rate brought forward
It took Parliament just 3 days to introduce, debate and pass legislation to bring forward the reduction in the corporate tax rate for small and medium businesses.
The applicable tax rates will now be:
2017 – 2018 27.5%
2018 – 2019 27.5%
2019 – 2020 27.5%
2020 – 2021 26%
2021 – 2022 25%
The Small Business Income Tax Offset rate will also increase in 2020-2021 to 13% and to 16% in 2021-2022 but it is still capped at $1,000.
Consultation paper released- Division 7A
Last week the Government released a consultation paper – “Targeted amendments to the Division 7A integrity rules”. Many clients will be aware that Division 7A is an integrity measure which operates to stop individuals accessing funds which have only been taxed at the corporate tax rate, rather than the individuals’ marginal tax rate.
We have been expecting amendments to Division 7A however, the proposed changes were expected to be largely in line with the Board of Taxation’s final report provided into the review of Division 7A which was done back in 2014. From a review of the consultation paper the changes proposed vary, in some parts significantly, from the Board’s original recommendations.
Treasury is taking submissions on this consultation paper up to 21 November 2018 and where appropriate, Holman Hodge will provide input to this process. As further information becomes available from Treasury, we will contact affected clients.
Payroll tax changes in SA
As many employers would be aware, the State Government announced in the SA State Budget that from 1 January 2019, entities whose payroll is less than $1.5 million will no longer have to pay payroll tax (PRT). As this falls in the middle of a financial year, it could complicate things a little.
Below is a summary of how the new payroll tax thresholds are expected to apply:
- Threshold changes
- The threshold for liability increases to $1.5M
- Where a business exceeds the $1.5m wage limit, the tax free threshold remains at $600,000
- If the payroll for a business is between $1.5M and $1.7M the rate increases on a sliding scale from 0% – 4.95%
- The process for businesses currently paying PRT who won’t need to after 31 December is as follows:
- 1/7/18 – 31/12/18 – if full 12 months wages are expected to exceed $600,000 employers are liable in this period
- 1/1/19 – 30/6/19 – if full 12 month wages are expected to exceed $1.5M employers are liable in this period
- Businesses below $1.5M for 2018-19 will not be liable for PRT in Jan – June period
- They will not be able to cancel registration until 30 June 2019
- Will not need to lodge monthly after 31 December 2018
- Will lodge an annual reconciliation in July 2019 and can then deregister
It is expected that there will be a calculator on the RevenueSA website closer to 31 December to help employers work out obligations
Scam phone calls
Another reminder to everyone that scam phone calls to individuals are on the rise with clients and staff both reporting phone calls received from a government authority (they don’t always state where they are from) where they say something along the lines of:
- Your file has been flagged for tax avoidance
- If you pay a sum of money immediately (whilst on the call) you will avoid any further action
- The matter is time sensitive and you must reply immediately
- A warrant has been or will be issued for your arrest
It has been reported to us by those who have answered the calls that the people calling can be very aggressive. If you don’t take the call, it’s likely a very formal sounding recorded voicemail message will be left stating some variant of the above. The most recent spate of calls show as originating from Canberra.
What should you do?
- Contact us if you are concerned – we can confirm whether the ATO has any outstanding matters with you
- You can report the caller to the ATO scam by clicking here (https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security/Verify-or-report-a-scam/)
- You can report the scam to ACCC by clicking here (https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam)
- Do not give any personal details to someone over the phone unless you are absolutely certain who you are talking to
- Block the number
If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail, please speak with your Holman Hodge contact.