Practice Update August 2018
Ian Campbell • 30 August 2018
Further company tax cuts deferred (for now . . .)
The Bill aims to progressively extend the lower 27.5% corporate tax rate to all corporate tax entities by the 2023/24 financial year, and further reduce
the corporate tax rate in stages so that, by the 2026/27 financial year, the corporate tax rate for all entities would be 25%.
Opposition confirms it won't repeal already legislated company tax cuts
Editor: Just in case the tax cut situation wasn't confusing enough, the leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, announced at a doorstop interview that,
if elected, Labor would repeal the existing company tax cuts for companies with turnover between $10 and $50 million.
ATO guide to the 5 most common Tax Time mistakes
- leaving out some of their income (e.g., forgetting a temp or cash job, capital gains on cryptocurrency, or money earned from the sharing economy);
- claiming deductions for personal expenses (e.g., home to work travel, normal clothes or personal phone calls);
- forgetting to keep receipts or records of their expenses (around half of the adjustments the ATO makes are because the taxpayer had no records, or they were poor quality);
- claiming for something they never paid for – often because they think everyone is entitled to a ‘standard deduction’; and
- claiming personal expenses for rental properties – either claiming deductions for times when they are using their property themselves, or claiming interest on loans used to buy personal assets like a car or boat.
Single Touch Payroll Update
- They are not required to provide their employees with payment summaries for the information they report through STP (although they may choose to provide
payment summaries for the first year of STP reporting).
- Income statements' will replace payment summaries.
- Employees' income statements are available through pre-filling and myGov.
- The income statement has three categories: 'Tax ready', 'Not tax ready' and 'Year-to-date'. Only 'tax ready' income statements are complete and will be available through pre-filling.
- Income statements may not be tax ready until 14 August this year. Employers have until this date to finalise their STP data.
For example, employers that live in an area where there is no internet connection, or where the connection or service is intermittent or unstable, can
apply for a deferral or even (in very limited circumstances) an exemption.
Cents per Km Deduction Rate for Car Expenses from 1 July 2018
Suburban scammers pushing illegal early access to super
- should not sign any documents nor provide them with any personal details;
- stop any involvement with the scheme, organisation or the person who approached them; and
- seek advice from a professional advisor or the ATO.
Transacting with cryptocurrency
How to structure business-income to build wealth
Cashflow red flags for small business in 2026
Readiness strategies in preparation for the Payday Super If you run a small business, paying Superannuation can feel like “one more admin job” on top of payroll, BAS and everything else. Two key changes mean Superannuation deserves a fresh look this year: The Super Guarantee (SG) rate is 12% for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 (and remains 12% after that). From 1 July 2026, “Payday Super” starts — employers will be required to pay SG on payday , rather than quarterly, and contributions must be paid into the employee’s fund within 7 days of payday . What does SG at 12% mean in everyday terms? SG is calculated on an employee’s Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) (often the base rate and ordinary hours, plus certain loadings/allowances depending on how they’re paid). The key point for most businesses is that the Superannuation cost is now 12 cents for every $1 of OTE. If you haven’t already, it’s worth confirming whether your staff packages are “plus super” (super on top) or “inclusive of super” (rare, but it happens). A small misunderstanding here can quietly create underpayments. What is “Payday Super” and why is it changing? Many employers pay the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) quarterly. Payday Super changes the rhythm: From 1 July 2026 , each time you pay OTE to an employee, it creates a new super payment obligation for that payday. You’ll have a 7-day due date for the SG to arrive in the employee’s fund after each payday (this is designed to allow time for payment processing). The ATO is implementing the change, and guidance is already being published to help employers prepare. This reform is aimed at reducing unpaid super and making it easier for workers to see whether super has actually been paid, closer to when they’re paid wages. Quarterly vs payday Super