Posts Categorized: Tips of the week

Contractor or employee?

Contractor or employee? You better get it right as the implications for doing so can be financial crippling. And then there is the time and mental frustration of dealing with such disputes.

The critical thing is to get the classification right.

You then have to get the right documentation in place.

If they are an employee then you need to do a few things including determine the right award, give them a letter of offer and issue the National 10 Employment Standards.
All too many business owners fail to document a contractor relationship. Agreements are looked through by investigators to avoid shams and find the true relationship. Sadly though, some business owners lose the fight as they have don’t have a contractor’s agreement to prove their position – leaving the investigators to pretty much accept whatever the payee claims.

Does it cost to establish a contractor’s agreement? Yes (but it’s insignificant considering what it can save you)

Should you get one off the web? No (how many times do do it yourself lawyers use say a USA agreement or be clueless about the differing considerations used by the ATO, State Revenue Office and WorkCover).

Will the process reduce the possibility of any claim as both parties are fully aware of the relationship? Absolutely.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation.

$30000 instant asset write off trap

There are a few traps with the $30000 instant asset write off trap to be wary of.

To qualify you need not only to buy the asset but have it installed ready for use before 1st July 2019.

And please note that this increased threshold only applies to asset acquired after Budget night (2nd April).

A Budget warning

A Budget warning! A Federal Budget is only a series of announcements. No announcement has effect until it is legislated. For that to happen, a bill must be passed by The House of Representatives before being passed by the Senate. From there it is effectively a formality for abill to receive Royal Assent.

That all said, the increased instant asset write-off of $30,000 has passed the Senate.

With an election pending, other announcements may never see the light of the day. Many announcements morph into quite different legislation.

Keep an eye on our posts to find out what is eventually becomes law and how you will benefit or be affected.

$30,000 instant asset write-off

It was announced in the Federal Budget on Tuesday night that the instant asset write-off threshold would be increased to $30,000.

Well the $30,000 instant asset write-off has already passed both houses of Parliament. It now just awaits royal asset (which is a formality).

Please note that this limit only applies to assets bought AFTER 2nd April 2019.

Keep you eye out for more upcoming tips and traps about this valuable tax saving concession.

Don’t jump too early?

So we have a Budget being delivered (one month early) tomorrow night. And we have a Federal Election due next month.

It seems as though we will have a change of government. One would therefore tend to pay more attention to Labour’s announcements than those from the Coalition. It also could be that Labour have a majority in both houses or at least a favourable Senate.

But don’t jump too early.

I have lost count of the number of times bills put forward by both parties have never been passed or are greatly watered down from the original announcement. And many times I have seen people incur transaction costs or trigger tax liabilities in anticipation of something that never saw the light of day.

Please return to this web page to view Tips and Traps on changes as they become concrete.

LRBA’s to go?

Labour says so according to the Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen.

Missing from the statement is how this and all the other proposed changes to super are going to further limit one’s ability to provide for one’s own retirement.

It flies in the face off all initiatives made between 1983 and 2006 – by Labour and the Coalition alike.

Cash flow troubles

Xero has just released its big data cash flow analysis of it users from January.

Xero in its Small Business Insights has reported that 50.12% of its users were cash flow positive in January. This means that just on every second business consumed more cash than came in during that month. And that is probably after keeping tight control of the purse strings.

January as we all know is usually the toughest month of the year for most small to medium sized businesses. And with that comes great stress and sleepless nights.

We have tools that will help you track your cash flow and forecast where it is going.

We also have many years of experience of dealing with all sorts of business. We can draw on that wealth of experience to help you improve your cash flow.

Ask us how by calling us to arrange a free meeting.

Your will and passwords

Your will becomes a public document once probate is granted. One can search on probates that have been granted.

It is therefore not the place to record usernames and passwords.

Please contact us if you would like the solution which we provide to our clients.

Single Touch Payroll exemptions

Single Touch Payroll has now been legislated to apply to all employers from July 2019. So from 1^st July, 2019, all employers must notify the Tax Office of every employees gross pay, tax and super at the time of payment.

Some exemptions and deferrals have been granted.

However, you shouldn’t need them. The main accounting software products offer Single Touch Payroll solutions. Furthermore, there is much preparatory work for which you will need to change and or improve your processes. It is not something bets left to deal with later.

Keep an eye out for future educational and preparatory steps.

STP – now law!

Single Touch Payroll has now been legislated for all employers. From July 2019, even the smallest of employers will have to report wage payments (inc super) to the ATO at the time of payment.

Whilst there will be some extensions, the time to start planning and preparing is now. We can help you with this.