Blog

COVID-19 Business Support Grant

22 July 2021

In response to the current stay at home order in South Australia, the State Government has announced a $100m emergency payment scheme to provide relief to businesses affected by the 7 day lockdown.

This is in the form of an emergency cash grant of $3,000 for employing businesses or $1,000 for those businesses who do not employ staff. To be eligible for the grant a business needs to meet all of the following criteria at the start of the restriction period of 12:01am Tuesday 20 July 2021:

Be located within South Australia.
Have an annual turnover of $75,000 or more in 2020-21 or 2019-20, and be registered for GST.
Have a valid and active ABN (Australian Business Number).
Must employ people in South Australia.
Have an Australia-wide payroll of less than $10 million in the 2019-20 financial year.
Experienced at least a 30 per cent reduction in turnover in the week of Tuesday 20 July 2021 – Monday 26 July 2021 (inclusive) (compared to the prior week) due to restricted trading conditions.

To be eligible for the $1,000 grant non-employing businesses will be subject to the eligibility criteria outlined above, excluding the requirement to employ people.

For further information including information on substantiation requirements in relation to proving the decline in turnover please click here.

To register your interest click here.

Further grant guidelines and the application portal will be available shortly with applications expected to open within the next two weeks. Applications for the grant will close on 30 September 2021.

Please note that the government will consider further support should the lockdown be extended beyond seven days.

Individual support – COVID-19 Disaster Payment

The Commonwealth Government has also extended its national support scheme to individuals (including employees) who have lost income during the lockdown. The SA government has extended access to the scheme to all eligible South Australians and not just those living in Commonwealth declared hotspots.

Should you not meet the turnover criteria to receive the business support grant, there may be an opportunity to apply for the COVID-19 Disaster payment instead if you can pass the general eligibility rules.

Applications for this payment will not open until 28 July 2021.

For more information click here.

For those in other states affected by lockdowns, we will be in contact with relief potentially provided to you and your businesses.

The team at i2 Advisory will be working from home during the lockdown and will therefore be available to support you during these times. Your advisor can be contacted by their email or mobile phone.

Let’s stay positive and look after each other.

New Director Identification Number regime could be just around the corner

18 July 2021

The Director Identification Number (DIN) regime may have been lost in many business owners’ peripheral vision, or even dropped off the radar completely, as it has been on the horizon for some time. But it is worth keeping in mind the ramifications of the measure, as the details could become important sooner than many realise, even before this year is out.

The legislation putting the regime in place has already been passed in June last year, but the scheme is not yet in operation. This is initiated by “proclamation”, which is required to happen within two years of the legislation becoming law.

The regime is part of the government’s “modernising business registers” program, which is intended to lessen corporate phoenix activity – the process of continuing business activity of a company that has been liquidated to avoid its debts — with the DIN regime increasing accountability by making directors traceable.

Continue reading “New Director Identification Number regime could be just around the corner” →

Make sure you update your ABN: It can be vital

3 July 2021

Government agencies regularly access data contained in the ABN registration, and where this is not up-to-date the taxpayer may be missing out on stimulus measures, grants, and other government support.

This became painfully evident during the 2019-20 bushfires, and is now re-surfacing during COVID-19 when it was found that a concerning amount of ABN data was out-of-date.

The ATO and the Australian Business Register are making efforts to remind businesses and relevant taxpayers that it is essential to ensure ABN registration details are accurate and completely up-to-date.

Continue reading “Make sure you update your ABN: It can be vital” →

When it comes to real estate and CGT, timing is important

16 June 2021

When you sell or otherwise dispose of real estate, the time of the event (when you make a capital gain or loss) is usually when one of the following occurs:

You enter into the contract (the date on the contract), not when you settle. The fact that a contract is subject to a condition, such as finance approval, generally doesn’t affect this date.
The change of ownership occurs if there is no contract – such as when a property passes to a beneficiary.
The real estate is compulsorily acquired – the time of the event is earliest of
- when you receive compensation from the acquiring entity
- when the entity became the property’s owner
- when the entity enters the property under a power of compulsory acquisition or takes possession under that power.

Continue reading “When it comes to real estate and CGT, timing is important” →

Dealing with excess before-tax super contributions

5 June 2021

Making extra before-tax contributions into super (called concessional contributions) can help boost a person’s retirement savings. But fund members need to be aware of the implications for when they exceed the concessional contributions cap.

Since 2013-14, when the excess concessional contributions refunding scheme came into effect, individuals exceeding their concessional contribution cap will accrue a tax liability.

Continue reading “Dealing with excess before-tax super contributions” →

Managing your superannuation transfer balance account

29 May 2021

Most people think of retirement as a time to put your feet up and relax, but it can also be a time when pre-retirees and retirees alike actually need to flex the grey matter.

With all the rules and regulations swirling around the superannuation sector these days, it’s not unusual for those nearing retirement to feel compelled to dust off the calculator and bone up on certain superannuation concepts. The transfer balance account and the transfer balance cap are topics that can challenge many retirees.

Continue reading “Managing your superannuation transfer balance account” →

Single touch payroll: When your reporting can cease

10 April 2021

A business may no longer be required to lodge single touch payroll (STP) reports for a number of reasons. These are if your business no longer has employees, has ceased trading, has changed structure, is not paying employees for the rest of the year, or has paused due to COVID-19.

Depending on your business’s situation and circumstances, what you need to do may be different.

Continue reading “Single touch payroll: When your reporting can cease” →

Both tax and SMSF audits on still on ATO’s radar, but some leniency given

13 March 2021

While the ATO has lately been focusing on the rollout of stimulus measures, it has also flagged that audit work is not off the table completely.

In late July, when the ATO fronted a parliamentary Senate Select Committee on COVID-19, its representative said plans were to start tax audits sometime between September and October 2020. Time and efforts however were diverted to the rollout of the JobKeeper scheme and other stimulus measures, with the ATO sourcing staff for this work by redeploying people from initiating audits, saying it had been a “conscious choice” not to initiate new audits during the peak of the pandemic.

But that, as they say in the classics, was then — and this is now. The takeaway for everyone is that audits will not go away, and will come at some point, so taxpayers and SMSF trustees need to have their affairs in order.

Continue reading “Both tax and SMSF audits on still on ATO’s radar, but some leniency given” →

Land Tax Assessments 2020/21

3 March 2021

If you have not received your Land Tax assessment yet, Revenue SA are currently processing these and you should expect to receive these in the post very soon.

For the 2020/21 financial year there are some changes to the way land is grouped for assessment.

Which may result in you receiving assessments in multiple ownerships for the first time.

Due to these changes, if you hold land in a trust, due to higher trust land tax rates, you may find your Land Tax Assessments are significantly higher than the previous year. Please contact our office should you require assistance, as we may be able to assist with reducing this assessment.

Please note exempt land, such as your main residence will appear on your Land Tax Assessment, although it remains exempt and excluded for calculation purposes.

Continue reading “Land Tax Assessments 2020/21” →

Calling time out on your business? Some essentials you’ll need to know

7 February 2021

When you first went into business, either buying an established enterprise or starting from scratch, probably the last thing on your mind was the day you would close the door for the last time.

But in a way it’s inevitable, whether through the outcomes from COVID-19, retirement, health reasons or, in a more ideal scenario, pursuing another career. But it’s important for you to know what’s involved when you come to the time when you close your business, as this can go a long way to smoothing the transition.

For starters, it’s important that all your tax issues are finalised before you cancel your Australian business number (ABN), which ceases that business. This allows the ATO to finalise your business’s account and issue any refunds that may be owing.

Continue reading “Calling time out on your business? Some essentials you’ll need to know” →