Announced early in the 2012 calendar year were changes to be made to the small business tax concessions with relation to the simpler depreciation rules. These items were re-announced during the 2012 Budget.

• the small business instant asset write-off threshold has been increased from $1,000 to $6,500
• the long-life small business pool and the general small business pool have been consolidated into a single pool to be written off at one rate
• small businesses can claim an accelerated initial deduction for motor vehicles acquired from 1 July 2012

This will generally mean small businesses are entitled to greater deductions in the year they acquire assets which will no doubt be of help at tax time and with cash flow.

If you have any questions about the above, or any tax matters generally, please contact your client manager.

The Federal Budget for 2012 was handed down last night by the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and had many items that would be of interest to Moneypenny clients and the taxpaying public in general.

Key issues for Moneypenny clients:

• Increase in Family Tax Benefit Part A for those still eligible
• Cash handouts to taxpayers eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A with school age children
• Tightening of LAFHA provisions; namely that you must maintain an Australian home that you are living away from, and that the allowance cannot be paid for a period of greater than 12 months
• Carry-back loss provisions - these allow for current year losses to be used to reclaim tax paid in previous years
• Bad debts - no deductions allowed for bad debt between related parties if not in the same tax consolidated group

The above is a brief summary of a few of the issues that may be of interest to Moneypenny clients. This does not constitute professional advice. Please contact your accountant if you have any questions about the above or anything else about the Budget.

Here is a good summary of the Budget 2012 as prepared by Westpac Alpha (reproduced here with permission).

Federal Budget 2012 Summary by Westpac (202 KB)

MELBOURNE

Mediawave.tv and Open Channel present Thomas Mai in Melbourne this Saturday 21st April 2012 for a full day workshop on Financing, Marketing & Distribution for Filmmakers in a social media connected world. Link

SYDNEY

Mediawave.tv presents Thomas Mai in Sydney on Saturday 5th May 2012 for a full day workshop on Financing, Marketing & Distribution for Filmmakers in a social media connected world. Link

 

10% discount available if you use the discount code: enterpriseconnect

Thanks to David Sharpe over at the Australian Government  Department of Industry, Innovation Science, Research and Tertiary Education.

 

CIIC and APRA-AMCOS have gotten together to create GENERATE to invest in Australian music enterprise. GENERATE is a pilot program to support enterprises in the Australian music industry which are seeking to grow and attract investment.

If this sounds like you, please see here for more information.

If you are having a Christmas party for your staff then you'll need to consider the potential Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) implications. FBT basically covers any benefit provided to an employee (or an associate of an employee, like a spouse or child) that isn't salary & wages. This could be a company car or the provision of meals (either in or out of the office).

There are a few exemptions that can get you out of paying FBT in relation to your Christmas party as follows:

• Exempt property benefits - if you're having the Christmas party at the office for current employees during regular office hours then there is no need to worry about FBT,
• Exempt minor benefits - if you're having the Christmas party at an external venue (restaurant, pub, etc.) and the cost per head is under $300 then there is no need to worry about FBT. This covers staff and their associates. Note that the $300 threshold is per benefit, so the Christmas party would be considered separate to any gift given to an employee.

As always, the above is a general guide only and does not constitute advice. If you think this may apply to you then you should speak with your accountant.

To all those emerging musicians out there - the City of Sydney are offering some free talks this week on how social media impacts upon music businesses and how it can be best utilised. See here for more information.

We are currently assisting a prominent music industry client placing an accountant in their Surry Hills office. The successful candidate will report directly to the CFO and will be responsible for the supervision of administration support staff amongst a variety of other duties.

 

If this sounds like you, please apply via our listing on SEEK here.

It is November so that means terrible moustaches, both ironic and not, all over our fair land. Hugh here at Moneypenny has banded some of the fellas together to get involved - what a guy!? He has since discovered the rest of us fellas are a bit flakey when it comes to adding/removing elements of facial hair so he'll be going it alone. Again, I say - what a guy!?

If you feel inclined to donate to the worthy cause that is men's health, feel free to do it here.

The issue of superannuation is very much on the ATO's radar at present. In fact, this issue was flagged as a key focus area in the ATO's 2011/12 Compliance Program and, to this end, the ATO are continuing to conduct field visits to indentify whether individuals are being incorrectly engaged as contractors.

If you are a contractor that is paid primarily as a reward for your labour there is a good chance that your employer should be making 9% superannuation contributions on your behalf.

Alternatively, if you are an employer of contractors principally for labour, then you may be liable to pay superannuation on behalf of your contractors.

Please have a read of the document below and contact your accountant should you have any further questions.

Superannuation for Contractors

 

The ATO have released the 2011-2012 lodgement program, which lists the due dates for BAS work and income tax returns. This information will be of interest to you if you, like most people, have a 15 May 2012 lodgement date. Taken straight from the ATO information:

 

Individual and trust returns due 15 May 2012 only

Staggered payment date arrangements exist for individual and trust clients whose income tax returns have a lodgement end date of 15 May 2012. Your client's payment due date will depend on when their income tax return is lodged and processed. If the return is:

• lodged up to and including 12 February 2012 - the payment date is 21 March 2012
• lodged from 13 February 2012 to 12 March 2012 (inclusive) - the payment date is 21 April 2012
• lodged from 13 March 2012 to 15 May 2012 - the payment date is 5 June 2012

 

So, what does this mean for you? Assuming you have a 15 May 2012 lodgement deadline, then simply holding off on the physical lodgement of your return until after 13 March 2012 (but before 15 May 2012) could result in you having more time to pay your tax bill.

As always, this doesn't constitute advice as everyones situation is different. Please contact your accountant to discuss the matter further.