iscover Top budget announcements impacting accountants this year
BusinessWith a pre-election budget delivering expected sweeteners, we unpack some of the announcements impacting accountants and their clients that may have flown under the radar.
While individual tax cuts got most of the headline attention, small business owners have been handed an investment boost, with the government set to raise the threshold for the instant asset write-off to $30,000.
Medium-sized businesses can now take up the measure as well, with the government casting the eligibility net wider by now allowing businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million to join in.
Businesses with Division 7A loans can also take comfort in the 12 month deferral for the start date of proposed amendments, with the government now recognising the complexity of the changes and the need for further consult.
New requirements for ABN holders will soon kick in as the government lands on a “sensible” outcome in its bid to implement an ABN renewal system to ensure it has the latest details of ABN holders.
Tax compliance
With $1 billion being handed to the ATO to extend the operation of the Tax Avoidance Taskforce, large businesses and high-net-wealth individuals can expect additional compliance activity from the Tax Office.
Along those lines, the ATO will also receive another $42.1 million to recover unpaid tax and superannuation liabilities from larger business and high-net-wealth individuals, with small businesses set to be excluded.
Audit quality
In a bid to respond to calls to review the audit market, the government has agreed to provide $800,000 over three years from 2019-20 to the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board in a bid to improve audit quality in Australia.
Jotham Lian
Jotham Lian is the editor of Accountants Daily, the leading source of breaking news, analysis and insight for Australian accounting professionals.
Before joining the team in 2017, Jotham wrote for a range of national mastheads including the Sydney Morning Herald, and Channel NewsAsia.
You can email Jotham at:
