Have you got the end of financial year blues? Check out these opportunities to minimise your business tax bill.
With a number of tax laws introduced in the past year for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), finance expert Justine Davies has partnered with Officeworks to help SMEs take the stress out of tax time.
What’s new this financial year?
Federal Budget small business initiatives:
The government is keen to boost small business investment and growth, having introduced several new measures to facilitate this:
- Companies with a turnover of less than $2,000,000 will receive a tax cut, from 30% down to 28.5%
- Small businesses not incorporated as a company will receive a 5% tax discount of up to $1,000 a year
- Small business can claim an immediate tax deduction for each and every item they purchase up to $20,000. The incentive is available for two years however the change still needs to pass through the Senate
After-hours web chat pilot for small business
It can be difficult to set aside time to talk with the tax office during business hours which is why the ATO’s new after-hours live web chat service for small business owners can be very useful. Visit www.sba.ato.gov.au for more information.
New small business newsroom
In late 2014, the tax office launched an online small business newsroom, to help time-poor business owners locate the latest tax news as quickly and easily as possible. You can check out the newsroom here.
Superannuation rates increased
From 1 July 2014 the super guarantee rate increased from 9.25 percent to 9.5 percent. It will remain here until July 2018.
PAYG withholding changes
As of 1 July 2014, the introduction of the Temporary Budget Repair levy means employers are required to withhold an additional two percent of tax from employees earning more than $180,000 annually. The Temporary Budget Repair levy has also increased the fringe benefits tax temporarily to 49 percent from 1 April 2015.
Tax File Numbers (TFN) and Australian Business Number (ABN) withholding rate
From 1 July, the tax withholding rate has temporarily increased to 49 percent for employers paying staff without a TFN. Likewise for SMEs paying invoices without an ABN quoted, the withholding rate has temporarily increased to 49 percent as of 1 July 2014.