• Ensure that your BAS lodgements are accurate and up-to-date – if not contact the ATO and set up a payment plan and consider how you can keep up to date in 2019/2020.
• Ensure your super guarantee (SG) contributions are accurate and up-to-date – your June SG is due 28th July 2019 and if you have prior quarters outstanding contact your bookkeeper for guidance as soon as possible.
• Will you be ready for Single Touch Payroll (STP) by the start date of 1 July? If not contact your bookkeeper to assist your transition or to advise if you may be eligible for a slightly later start date or transitional arrangement. Remember there is no need to wait until 1 July and you can join the 27,000 small employers who have already started reporting.
• Reconcile your payroll and get ready to provide 2019 PAYG Payment Summaries to your employees ensuring that salary sacrifice superannuation contributions (RESC) and certain reportable fringe benefits are being correctly dealt with. There are a few changes this year depending if you are reporting by STP.
• If you are not reporting to the ATO via STP, you will be required to provide 2019 PAYG Payment Summaries to your employees by 14 July 2019. Your Annual 2019 PAYG Payment Summary needs to be lodged with the ATO by 14 August 2019. There may be penalties imposed by the ATO if they are not lodged on time.
• If you are reporting to the ATO via STP, you are exempt from providing payment summaries to your employees and from lodging a PAYG payment summary annual report for the amounts you’ve reported through STP as long as you undertake the finalisation declaration by the prescribed date. You will have up until 31 July to ‘finalise’ your employees’ EOFY payroll information through your STP enabled payroll software – but this can be finalised as soon as you have reconciled the information and happy with its completeness and accurateness.
  Please note that this applies to businesses who have employed more than 20 employees during the 2018/2019 financial year. Your employees will be able to access their income statement online via myGov under the employment tab. If your employees don’t have a myGov account and cannot create one, or do not have a registered agent, they can call the ATO on 13 28 61 and they will provide it. You certainly can provide a copy, however there’s no legal requirement to do so.
• Ensure your records are compliant with the ATO. The ATO requires businesses to keep records for at least five years and more and more businesses are choosing to go paperless. Consider if this is something you would like to implement from 1 July 2019 in addition to using accounting software.
• All new STP registrations will start on the 1st July 2019

BUDGET BOOST FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

The Government has provided lower taxes for around 3.4 million businesses employing around 7.1 million workers.

The Government has legislated lower tax rates for small and medium‑sized companies with turnovers below $50 million. Small and medium‑sized companies currently facing a 27.5 per cent rate will have a 25 per cent rate by 2021-22, which is five years earlier than previously planned. This compares to the standard company tax rate of 30 per cent.

An incorporated food van business with four part‑time employees makes $150,000 per year. As a result of the Government’s tax relief, the small business will have an extra $3,750 this year and $7,500 in 2021-22.

Fast-tracking these tax cuts will benefit around 970,000 small and medium per centsized companies that employ around 5.2 million workers.

The Government has also legislated to bring forward the increases to the unincorporated small business tax discount rate, rising from 8 per cent currently to 13 per cent in 2020-21 and to 16 per cent from 2021 per cent22 (up to the existing cap of $1,000). This will benefit around 2.4 million businesses, employing around 1.9 million workers.

The tax relief also helps medium‑sized employers. A company that operates regional tours with 28 employees and $8 million in turnover that makes an annual profit of $800,000 will retain an extra $20,000 this year and $40,000 in 2021-22 to invest, grow and employ more workers.
 

Greater incentives to invest and grow

Empowering Australian businesses to grow, invest and support a stronger economy

The Government is helping businesses invest and grow through the instant asset write-off.

In this Budget, the Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $30,000 until 30 June 2020. The threshold applies on a per asset basis, so eligible businesses can instantly write off multiple assets. This builds on the Government’s earlier announcement that the instant asset write-off threshold would be increased from $20,000 to $25,000 and extended to 30 June 2020. More than 350,000 businesses have already taken advantage of the instant asset write‑off.

The Government is also expanding access to the instant asset write-off to include medium‑sized businesses by increasing the annual turnover threshold from $10 million to $50 million. Around 22,000 additional businesses employing around 1.7 million workers will now be eligible to access the instant asset write-off.

These changes will benefit small and medium‑sized businesses and improve their cash flow as they will be able to immediately deduct purchases of eligible assets each costing less than $30,000.

Around 3.4 million businesses, employing around 7.7 million workers will be eligible.

The increased threshold and expanded eligibility will apply from 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019 to 30 June 2020.

The Government’s changes ensure that more businesses continue to benefit from the instant asset write-off as they grow, supporting them to invest in assets, build their business and employ more workers.