Last week, the minister for environment and the great barrier reef, minister for science and minister for the arts, Leeanne Enoch, declared the flooding in the Townsville district a disaster under the Queensland Disaster Management Act 2003.
In response, the Tax Office is set to announce extensions to various tax and activity statement lodgments.
“The ATO expects to grant lodgment and payment extensions to taxpayers impacted by floods in North Queensland,” an ATO spokesperson told Accountants Daily.
“We anticipate to make an announcement with details around which specific lodgment obligations along with length of any extensions in the next few days.”
The extensions are expected to follow in the footsteps of deferrals granted during the Cyclone Debbie disaster in 2017, where automatic one-month deferrals were granted.
The disaster declaration will mean an Australian disaster relief fund (ADRF) can be established to provide relief to the victims of the Townsville flooding.
Tax deductions for donations to an ADRF can only be claimed for contributions made in the two years after the disaster is declared.
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Jotham Lian
Jotham Lian is the news 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.
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