Tag: Tax

The campaign for a Robin Hood tax has hit Australia, with high profile Australians and charities (but few economists) lining up to support the cause.

Hospitals, schools and charities are all under threat by the Henry Tax Review’s proposed changes to Fringe Benefits Tax concessions according toaccounting firm BDO.

Small business owners are at risk of having to pay thousands of dollars in retrospective taxes as a result of the ATO’s recent draft ruling regarding trust income and gains that are allocated to, but not paid to, private company beneficiaries of the trust.

Tony Abbott’s proposed plan to introduce a national paid parental leave scheme has received support from the nation’s peak small business body today. Jaye Radisich, CEO of the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) said that Tony Abbott’s scheme would mean that women in the workforce would receive leave at their existing salary level […]

Tony Abbott has been forced to defend himself after proposing a new tax on big business to pay for a 26-week parental leave scheme. Heather Ridout from the Australian Industry Group says the new tax would increase unemployment as businesses struggle to pay the levy. “It fails muster in terms of a paid parental leave […]

Standard Business Reporting (SBR) is an Australian Government initiative to reduce the business-to-government reporting burden. SBR has been co-designed by Australian, state and territory government agencies in partnership with software developers, business and their accountants, bookkeepers, tax agents and payroll professionals. SBR is simplifying business-to-government reporting by: • removing unnecessary or duplicated information from government […]

Tax agents are facing cashflow problems as the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) new income tax processing system has been delayed. The common practice of accountants deducting their tax preparation fee from taxpayers’ refunds has been put into turmoil as the ATO have not processed 705,000 tax returns since last year. Adrian Raftery, CEO of accountantsRus, […]

The National Institute of Accountants (NIA) has recommended to the Federal Government that small businesses should be compensated for the time they spend being unpaid tax collectors. Increases in the level of complexity of tax laws have meant compliance has become more onerous with the costs on small business being disproportionate to their ability to […]

Businesses are looking at the fundamentals of demand for green initiatives from customers as political debate rages on the best way to reduce Australia’s carbon emissions, with a new report finding that consumer demand outweighs tax incentives as a key driver to operate a more sustainable business. Over 250 businesses across Australia were analysed by […]

Tony Abbott took Australia to the cleaners today, visiting the NSW town of Queanbeyan to meet with a dry cleaner operator who it is claimed will be worse off under the Australian Government’s planned emissions trading scheme legislation. Mr Abbott continued to drive home the Coalition’s message that the ETS will be a “great big […]