IN SHORT…..
October 24, 2018Reminder on cents per km car expenses rate
The cents per kilometre car expense rate increased from 66 cents to 68 cents per kilometre from 1 July 2018. Employers who use the cents per kilometre rate to pay car allowances for employees should ensure that car allowance rates are up to date. If more than 68 cents per kilometre is paid, employers need to withhold tax on the excess amount under the PAYG withholding system.
New immediate deduction for primary producers
Legislation that passed Parliament last month will enable primary producers to claim an immediate deduction for fodder storage assets such as silos and hay sheds used to store grain and other animal feed. The deduction is available if the primary producer first uses the asset or has the asset installed and ready for use on or after 19 August 2018. The immediate deduction can be claimed in the year the expense is incurred. Prior to this date, primary producers could generally only deduct the cost of these assets over 3 years.
This is one of several measures announced as part of the Government’s package of drought assistance measures which are intended to aid drought-affected farmers.
Confusion reigns over superannuation transfer balance cap
A recent speech by the ATO’s Assistant Commissioner for Superannuation demonstrates the very practical problems with the new superannuation rules.
The $1.6 million transfer balance cap (TBC) that limits the amount you can hold in a superannuation pension requires trustees to be aware of how close they are to this limit at all times. To ensure that this cap is not breached, trustees need to report common events that may impact on a member’s pension account. Trustees should have already reported pre-existing pensions (pensions members were receiving just before 1 July 2017 that they have continued to receive and which are in retirement phase on or after 1 July 2017).
This new event-based reporting requirement is causing a few headaches with the wrong information or no information being reported. Common ‘events’ that need to be reported include:
- The start of new retirement phase pensions
- The full or partial pay-out of a pension (commutation), and
- Some limited recourse borrowing arrangements.
Some information does not need to be reported including withdrawals from accumulation accounts, standard pension payments, or investment earnings or losses made on or after 1 July 2017.
To make the reporting process work, it’s essential to keep us up to date as events occur. If you are not sure, just give us a call or drop us a line – it’s better to be sure.
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