September 2003 Newsletter
Print NewsletterIn this issue we look at:
Allowances for 2003/2004
The Taxation Office has issued TR2003/7 reasonable allowance amounts for the 2003-2004 income year. The ruling applies to deductions claimed for work-related losses and outgoings incurred during the 2003-2004 income year, which are covered by a travel allowance or award overtime meal allowance. A copy of the ruling can be obtained from www.wearne.com.au > tax downloads.
Overtime Meals
If you have overtime meal allowance expense, the maximum amount that can be claimed without any written evidence is $19.75 per meal provided the meal allowance is paid under an industrial instrument ie an award. If your meal allowance exceeds $19.75, then the whole amount must be supported with receipts or any written evidence.
Domestic and Overseas Travel
You can claim a domestic or overseas travel allowance expense provided the amount of the claim does not exceed the relevant reasonable amount shown in the ruling. For overseas travel allowance, the amount claimed is considered to be reasonable if it does not exceed the relevant food and drink (meals) or incidentals component.
Super Fund expenses paid by an employer
On 10 July 2003 the ATO released a fact sheet stating that expenses paid by an employer sponsor on behalf of a self-managed superannuation fund cannot be reclassified by a journal entry and, therefore, are non deductible as a superannuation contribution.
The ATO has agreed to adopt a prospective approach to enforcing compliance, and expects employers and funds to comply with the legislation from 1 July 2003.
For trustees of self managed superannuation funds, it is imperative, that superannuation expenses, such as tax instalments, accounting fees and levies are paid from the superannuation fund's cheque account from 1 July 2003 onwards.
Pay-Roll - From 1 July 2003
Rate - Pay-Roll tax rate will remain at 6% and the threshold will remain at $600,000
Subcontractors - Employers who employ sub-contractors are required to provide an approved statement from each of their sub-contractors declaring that their sub-contractors have paid their pay-roll tax liabilities, if any. Employers without these approved statements may be liable for the sub-contractor's unpaid pay-roll tax liability.
Grouping - The definition of a group has been widened. Employers may be grouped for payroll tax purpose in the following three situations:
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Where corporations are related under section 50 of the Corporations Law; or
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Where the employees of one business work for another business; or
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Where the same person, or the same persons, have together a controlling interest in each of two or more businesses.
MYOB Reports to make your BAS easier
There are reports that can assist you in balancing your BAS. The reports are in the MYOB business management software in the Index to Reports screen under the "GST/Sales Tax" tab.
Tax Code Exceptions Report - This report will display any transactions in the date range specified that do not have a tax code allocated against them.
Tax Amount Variance Report - This report displays transactions where tax amounts have been edited, therefore calculating a variance between posted and calculated tax amount.
Tax Information Reconciliation Report - Provides a summary of tax charged for the selected period and compares this with the balance of the appropriate tax collected/paid accounts.
For further information about using this particular Tax Report please visit http://www.support.myob.com.au.
Useful Websites
www.computershare.com.au or www.asxperpetual.com.au are websites that allow investors to access details of their shareholdings and dividend received by entering their HIN or SRN investor number.
www.oanda.com is a website that provides current exchange rates as well as exchange rate history.
If you require details about any of the items in this newsletter or would like more information, please contact us. Items in this Bulletin are general comments only. They do not constitute advice and should not be used as a substitute for business planning, financial or taxation advice.
