Epoch News

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale concepts have well and truly arrived in Australia with retailers embracing this latest retail event to stimulate what has been an economically lack lustre year. Why ‘Black Friday’? For many Australians, Black Friday is just...

The countdown to Christmas is now on and we’re in the midst of the headlong rush to get everything done and capitalise on any remaining opportunities before the Christmas lull. Busy period or not, Christmas causes a period of dislocation and volatility for most...

Legislation that passed through parliament last month prevents taxpayers from claiming a deduction for expenses incurred for holding vacant land. The amendments are not only retrospective but go beyond purely vacant land.  Previously, if you bought vacant land with...

You might have seen the recent spate of media freedom advertisements as part of the Your Right to Know campaign. The prime-time advertising states that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) can take money from your account without you knowing. The question is, do you really...

Woolworths is the latest company facing fallout from the underpayment of staff. In what is believed to be the largest remediation of its kind, Woolworths have stated that they have underpaid 5,700 salaried team members with remediation expected to be in the range of...

The ATO’s recently released interpretation of the tax treatment of capital gains distributed by an Australian discretionary trust to non-resident beneficiaries will have a significant negative impact for some. Two new determinations released by the ATO deal with the...

The Government has resurrected the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) amnesty giving employers that have fallen behind with their SG obligations the ability to “self-correct.” This time however, the incentive of the amnesty is strengthened by harsh penalties for those that...

Five years ago the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) offered a penalty amnesty on undisclosed foreign income. Five years on, the ATO has again flagged under-reporting as an issue. However, this time, the gloves are off. How you are taxed and what you are taxed on...

It's not uncommon for landlords to be confused about what they can and can't claim for their rental properties. What often seems to make perfect sense in the real world does not always make sense for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In general, deductions can...

Last month, the ATO released statistics showing small business is responsible for 12.5% ($11.1 billion) of the total estimated 'tax gap'. These new figures give visibility to tax compliance issues within the small business sector and indicate where we can expect ATO...