And just like that, it’s time to look back at some of the significant legislative and policy changes that occurred this year.
$20,000 instant asset write off extended
The ATO extended the immediate deductibility threshold for small business until July 2019. The popular announcement is valid for small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million.
Single Touch Payroll (STP)
Each time you pay your employees, you will report the tax and super information to us from your Single Touch Payroll (STP)-enabled payroll solution. Employers who fully report all the information required through Single Touch Payroll will not have to comply with many other reporting obligations under the existing law. This includes providing certain payment summaries and the corresponding payment summary annual report (PSAR).
National Minimum Wages
The national minimum wage increased in Australia on 1 July 2018 by 3.5%. The new minimum wage is $719.20 per week, for a 38-hour week, or $18.93 per hour, for employees on the national minimum wage or a modern award.
Updates to the National Privacy Act – Data Breach Changes
From 22 February 2018, businesses with an annual turnover of more than $3 million are required to comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988. A data breach occurs when unauthorised personal information is accessed or released. If the breach is likely to cause serious harm to an individual, businesses are obligated to notify both the individual involved, and the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Read more about the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
Changes to casual & part-time entitlements in some awards
From 1 January 2018, the Fair Work Commission made changes to some award rates and minimum shift entitlements for casual and part-time employees come into effect. This means business owners need to pay staff affected the updated award from the first full pay period after 1 January 2018.
Learn more about the changes to the casual & part-time entitlements award rates
Tax cuts
There is a new rebate for people earning up to $125,000 a year.
The low and middle income tax offset will be paid as part of the tax return at the end of the 2018-19 financial year and will mean between $200 and $530 extra depending on how much someone earns.
There is also a tax cut for people earning more than $87,000 a year because the top threshold of the 32.5 per cent tax bracket goes from $87,000 to $90,000.
And companies with a turnover of between $25 million a year and $50 million a year will pay a lower rate of corporate tax from July 1. It will fall from 30 per cent to 27.5 per cent.
The growth of 542 Partners
542 have continued to expand our team, Ralph, Cristin, Jess and Kurt joined the team in 2018. If you haven’t already, you can read more about our story here.
When you’re a 542 client, you don’t just get one accountant, you engage our whole team. At minimum, a senior partner and one accountant: a team dedicated to your success. And what’s more their own teams support those senior partners and accountants, creating a whole “we”, working for you and your business.
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