2021 Federal Budget Update & Highlights

Written by: Ash Nadan
Published on:
October 18, 2020
Tax
2021 Federal Budget Update & Highlights

On the 6th of October 2020, the Federal government delivered a budget speech which was arguably like no other one presented before. The profound impact of the Covid 19 has affected Australia on many levels. The effects of the pandemic have been wide reaching and the impacts are likely to be felt in the Australian Economy for years to come.

The path to recovery will be highly focussed on jobs creation or perhaps resurrection, with many businesses now facing some uncertainty in relation to JobKeeper payments being reduced from October 2020 before being phased out in March 2021. 

The questions remain how this plan will increase economic resilience and create a more competitive and income-generating economy. The projected debt levels are also a cause for concern with the forward estimates projecting net debt to balloon at $966.2 Billion by 2024. On the other side of the spectrum the treasury has pencilled in rapid recovery should a vaccine become available in the near future and have predicted an average growth of 3.5% in the next three Financial years. In regard to the unemployment rate the treasury expects the rate to hover around 5.5% by mid-2024.

Let us take a step back now from the macro level and focus our attention on the main aspects of the budget for the SME world.


Income Tax Cuts – Personal

Looking back at the 2019/20 budget the announced certain Tax cuts as part of its Personal Income Tax Plan. These Tax cuts originally scheduled for 2022 has been brought forward and will apply from the 1 July 2020. These cuts will have to go through the legislative process but are expected to pass within the next couple of weeks. We expect most payroll software providers such as Xero, MYOB & QuickBooks etc to update these cuts automatically when they are released. The employees will essentially have an increase in their take home pay with less withholding being applied.


Tax Rate Changes 

  • The top threshold of the 19 %  personal income tax bracket will increase from $37,000 to $45,000. 
  • The top threshold of the 32.5 % personal income tax bracket will increase from $90,000 to $120,000.
  • The low-income tax offset (LITO) will increase from $445 to $700. The increased LITO will be withdrawn at a rate of 5 cents per dollar between taxable incomes of $37,500 and $45,000. The LITO will then be withdrawn at a rate of 1.5 cents per dollar between taxable incomes of $45,000 and $66,667. 

You can calculate the actual impact on your Taxes by using this calculator .

As an example, an individual with a taxable income of $120,000 for the 2021 FY can expect to receive tax relief of $2,745.

This will be an essential consideration when we will complete the Tax planning exercise for the 2021 Financial Year.‍

‍

Impact of Tax Relief brackets listed below:


Increase in Small business Entity Turnover Threshold

The Government will expand access to a range of small business tax concessions by increasing the small business entity turnover threshold for these concessions from $10 million to $50 million. 

Businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of $10 million or more but less than $50 million will for the first time have access to up to ten further small business tax concessions in three phases: 

• From 1 July 2020, eligible businesses will be able to immediately deduct certain start-up expenses and certain prepaid expenditure. 

• From 1 April 2021, eligible businesses will be exempt from the 47 per cent fringe benefits tax on car parking and multiple work-related portable electronic devices (such as phones or laptops) provided to employees. 

• From 1 July 2021, eligible businesses will be able to access the simplified trading stock rules, remit pay as you go (PAYG) instalments based on GDP adjusted notional tax, and settle excise duty and excise-equivalent customs duty monthly on eligible goods under the small business entity concession. Eligible businesses will also have a two-year amendment period apply to income tax assessments for income years starting from 1 July 2021, excluding entities that have significant international tax dealings or particularly complex affairs.

 In addition, from 1 July 2021, the Commissioner of Taxation’s power to create a simplified accounting method determination for GST purposes will be expanded to apply to businesses below the $50 million aggregated annual turnover threshold.

These changes will simplify eligibility and reduce red tape for around 20,000 businesses, as more turnover thresholds will align to the aggregated annual turnover threshold for a base rate entity for company tax purposes. The eligibility turnover thresholds for other small business tax concessions will remain at their current levels

JobMaker Hiring Credit 

In an effort to create additional jobs for the 12-month period from the 6th of October 2020 to 06 October 2021 for eligible employees between the age of 16 and 35. The first box to tick would be to demonstrate that the new employee will increase overall headcount and payroll expense.

For the prescribed 12-month period after an eligible employee is added, an eligible employer may claim a Hiring credit from the ATO in the form of:

  • $200 a week for each additional eligible employee aged 16 to 29 years old
  • $100 a week for each additional employee aged 30 to 35 years old

The maximum amount of Hiring credit claimed by an employer will be $10,400 per eligible employee.

Please see a summary of the eligibility criteria below.

‍

Who is an eligible employer?

  • Must have an active ABN
  • Be up to date with tax lodgements
  • Be registered for PAYGW
  • Report your payroll via STP (this is everyone using Xero or a similar platform for payroll)
  • Kept adequate records (i.e. timesheets)
  • Demonstrate a new job has been created. Increased overall head count or increased total payroll value from the reference period.
  • Hire an eligible employee

‍

Who is an eligible employee?

  • Aged 16-35
  • Work a minimum of 20 hours per week
  • Have commenced employment between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021
  • Have been receiving Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, or Parenting Payment for at least one month in the past three months (this is a key requirement which cannot be overlooked)
  • Be in their first year of employment and employed for the period claiming.
  • Not receiving another subsidy under Commonwealth program.

‍

Temporary Full Expensing of Capital Assets from 7th October 2020 until 30th June 2022

The government has made the announcement of a temporary measure to allow businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the full cost of eligible capital assets.

Businesses with annual aggregated turnover of less than $5 billion will be entitled to an immediate tax deduction for the full cost of new eligible capital assets and improvements to existing eligible assets acquired from 7 30 pm on the 6 October 2020 and first used or installed by 30 June 2022 

  • Businesses with aggregated turnover of less than $50 million will also be entitled to an immediate tax deduction for the full cost of second-hand assets acquired from 7:30pm AEDT on 6 October 2020 and first used or installed by 30 June 2022 
  •  Businesses with aggregated annual turnover between $50 million and $500 million can claim an immediate deduction for the full cost of eligible second-hand assets costing less than $150,000 if they are purchased by 31 December 2020 and installed ready for use by 30 June 2021 
  • Small businesses with aggregated turnover of less than $10 million can deduct the balance of their simplified depreciation pool at the end of the income year under the new measure.


Loss Carry Back Provision for Companies

Temporary Tax relief will be allowed to eligible companies to carry back losses  made in 2020 to the 2022 FY to offset tax paid on profits made by eligible companies from the 2019 FY onwards. 

The losses applied under the ‘’carry back provision’’ will essentially generate a refundable tax offset in the year it is incurred. It is to be noted that the losses carried back cannot exceed the prior year profit and the offset amount cannot be more that the balance of tax paid by the entity

This provision will be available with the lodgement of the 2021 and 2022-Income Tax Returns for the company.


Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy

The Government has earmarked $1.2 Billion to increase the number of apprentices and trainees employed in Australia. This new subsidy is accessible by businesses of all sizes and will be available from 5 October 2020 to 30 September 2021 for those apprentices and trainees commencing employment during this period. Eligible businesses will be reimbursed with up to 50% of the apprentice or trainee’s wages worth up to $7,000 per quarter. 

This subsidy will be capped at 100,000 places. In order to minimise disruptions to these new apprentice arrangements, the commencement of the Incentives for Australian Apprenticeships Program will be delayed until 1 July 2021.

‍

Research and Development Tax Incentives 

From 1 July 2021, companies with a turnover of less than $20 million will attract a tax incentive of 18.5% above the prevailing company tax rate. With a 25% company tax rate proposed for the 2022 financial year, companies with sufficient losses will retain the ability to receive 43.5 cents for every dollar spent on R&D


COVID 19 – Business Support Grants 

NANE (NON – ASSESSABLE, NON- EXEMPT INCOME)

The Government has announced that business support grants received by small and medium-sized businesses will be treated as non-assessable, non-exempt income (NANE income). 

The measure is currently applicable for any grant payments received by Victorian businesses under the ‘Business Resilience Package’ announced by the Victorian Government. 

Grant payments that are not identified by the Government as eligible payments under this measure will continue to be treated as taxable income.

Eligibility to treat grant payments announced by States and Territories as NANE income will be determined on an application basis and will be restricted to grant programs announced on or after 13 September 2020 in relation to payments made from 13 September 2020 to 30 June 2021. 

The Government has conferred a regulation making power in the income tax laws which is intended to ensure that eligible COVID-19 related business support payments will be treated as NANE income.


Conclusion

It is to be noted that this Budget carries with it the hopes of economic recovery of every Australian that have experienced and suffered through the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unprecedented times called for unprecedented measures which have been highlighted In the budget for the pillars of the economy and major industries. We hope that this paves the way for the revival of the economy at every level.

Should you have any more questions or require more specific advice on your group’s position in light of these announcements please get in touch with us.


Categories

Tax
Business
Covid 19

Thinking we can help you with something?

Talk to us
×

Privacy Policy

‍

AMN Accounting Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.

We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The APPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.

A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au


What is Personal Information?

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include:

  • your name and date of birth;
  • your contact information including physical/postal addresses, email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers;
  • where relevant to the services we are providing you, your financial information about your assets, occupation, income, bank account balances, account activities, payment history;
  • government identifiers (such as TFN, ABN, ACN);
  • shareholdings and details of investments;
  • details of superannuation and insurance arrangements;
  • educational qualifications, employment history and salary;
  • visa or work permit status;
  • personal information about your spouse and dependants; and/or
  • information from third parties, such as banks, financial planners, insurance brokers, mortgage brokers etc, where it is permitted under the APP’s to disclose or receive the information to/from the organisation, or has received the prior consent from the individual to release the information to/from the organisation.

When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.

‍

How does AMN Accounting Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd collect your personal information?

Your Personal Information is obtained from you in many ways including:

  • voluntarily provided to us via interviews, telephone, or SMS;
  • voluntarily sent to us via post, email, forms, facsimile, the contact us page on our website and any other parts of our website including our online client portal.

There also may be occasions when we collect your personal information from other sources such as:

  • your employer where they are our client;
  • your family members;
  • your representatives, agents, or referral partners;
  • a related body corporate or business partner or associate of CHN Partners; and/or
  • a publicly available record.


We do not guarantee website links or policy of authorised third parties.


When will AMN Accounting Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd use and disclose your information?

In general, we will collect, hold, use or disclose personal information for a number of purposes including (but not limited to):

  • to provide professional services, including accounting, taxation, audit and assurance, business services & advisory, corporate advisory, financial, management consulting or other related services to you;
  • to respond to requests or queries;
  • to maintain contact with our clients;
  • to keep our clients and other contacts informed of our services and industry developments;
  • to notify our clients of seminars and other events;
  • for administrative purposes;
  • for purposes relating to the employment of our staff;
  • when engaging service providers, contractors or suppliers relating to the operation of our business;
  • to manage any conflict of interest or independence (including auditor independence) obligations or situations;
  • to conduct surveys;
  • for seeking your feedback;
  • to meet any regulatory obligations;
  • as part of a corporate transaction; and or/for any other business-related purposes;

By providing us with your personal information, you also consent to us using and disclosing your personal information for:

  • providing you with news and information about our goods and services;
  • purposes necessary or incidental to the provision of our goods and services;
  • providing you with the functionality on our website, and customising and improving your online experience with us;
  • personalising your experience with our products and services, for example, via connectivity with social media services;
  • sending you marketing and promotional material that we believe you may be interested in, either from any of our related entities or a third-party business which we consider may be of interest to you; and
  • seeking your feedback on our services, or for market research purposes.

We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure.

You may at any time request that we discontinue sending you emails or other communications.

Your personal information may also be used and disclosed to protect our rights or property and that of our users and, where appropriate, to comply with legal processes, which may include disclosures to law enforcement, regulatory or government agencies.

‍

Disclosure of Personal Information

Generally, we will only disclose your personal information for a purpose set out above. This may include disclosing your personal information to:

  • third parties engaged to perform administrative or other business management functions;
  • our business partners and associates;

AMN Accounting Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd disclosures of your personal information to third parties are on a confidential basis or otherwise in accordance with law. We may also disclose your personal information with your consent or if disclosure is required or authorised by law.


Sensitive Information

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.

Sensitive information will be used by us only:

  • For the primary purpose for which it was obtained
  • For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose
  • With your consent; or where required or authorised by law.


Third Parties

Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.


Security of Personal Information

Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that to the best of our ability and available resources reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. We however cannot provide an assurance that the information will not be subject to misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure.

When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.


Access to your Personal Information

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete, up to date, and relevant whenever it is used, collected, or disclosed. You may request access to your personal information by contacting our office. Subject to any legal restrictions we would be happy to advise you what personal information we hold about you if you request this. We will respond to all requests within a reasonable period. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.

There may be some cost to you to cover the cost of retrieving and processing the information if it requires a significant amount of time to locate or collect your information or to present it in an appropriate form. We will let you know in advance if any charges will apply.

We rely on the accuracy of the information you provide to us. If you think that we may hold information about you that is incorrect in any way, please contact us and we will correct any errors or inaccuracies where required.

If we are unable to provide you with access to your information, or make any amendments which you have requested, we will advise you of our reasons.

In order to protect your Personal Information, we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.

‍

Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information

It is important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete, and up to date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.


Policy Updates

This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.

Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries

If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy, please contact us:

AMN Accounting Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd
PO Box 20
Southland Centre, VIC 3192

Email :ash@amngroup.com.au

Phone: +614 2393 9094


×

Terms of Use

‍

The content contained and accessed on this website (the “Site”) is provided by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd and represents general materials provided for information purposes only. It is intended as a guide only and does not represent advice on any matter.

No warranty or representation is given in respect to its content. Accordingly, no responsibility is taken by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd or any member, representative or affiliate of the firm, for any loss suffered by any party because of actions taken based on this information. To enable fully informed decisions, we recommend parties seek professional advice specific to their circumstances.

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd does not guarantee or warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, without delay, error-free, omission-free, or free of viruses. Therefore, the information is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, timeliness, and completeness.

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd any of its related partners, managing directors, principals, agents or employees will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in connection with, this website:

  • for any direct loss;
  • for any indirect, special, or consequential loss; or
  • for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.

These limitations of liability apply even if AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd has been expressly advised of the potential loss.

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd supports and encourages the dissemination and sharing of information you find on this site.

You may not reproduce any excerpts from pages unless you seek approval and provide credit to this Site / sight the source and provide a link back to the page on this Site where the content originated.

Any freely available material, outside of page content e.g. PDFs, provided on the site may be shared and distributed providing it is done so by way of linking to the original material /item and proper approval from the Practice has been given.

Material is updated from time to time and your copy may not be the latest version.

Materials and content (beyond excerpts and linking to original material) on the Site may not be reproduced or publicly displayed, performed , distributed, or used for any public or commercial purposes without the written permission of AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd

In no instance are you permitted to modify any original material or content you find on the site for any public or commercial purposes without the written permission of AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd

Content on the Site is copyrighted and unauthorised use of any materials on the Site may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Links that involve unauthorised use of our logo are explicitly prohibited by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd and may present trademark and copyright infringement.



×

Complaints Resolutions

‍

Objectives

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd strives to provide you with a professional service. However, we understand that there may be times when you may not always be satisfied with every aspect of your interaction or the service provided.  To ensure that you have the means to raise with us any concerns you may have and to assist us in handling them fairly and efficiently we provide the following guidelines on how the firm will receive and manage complaints made against it.

‍

How can a complaint be made?

You can raise your concerns with us in person or by telephone, however, so the details of your complaint are fully understood and can be handled as quickly as possible by the most appropriate person it is preferable that your concerns are made in writing. This can be by letter or email.

Where a complaint relates to a job or service, you can direct it to the Ash Nadan. If you are not sure who to refer your complaint to, or you are more comfortable raising your concerns with someone you do not normally deal with please address your complaint to: 

Ash Nadan – Managing Partner

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd

PO Box 20

Southland Centre VIC 3192

Phone +614 2393 9094

What information should you provide?

The following information will assist us in determining the issues and details of your concerns and enable us to respond as quickly as possible.

  • your name and position
  • your current address, email, and telephone number
  • the entity or individual for whom the work was carried out if applicable
  • your relationship with AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd (client, supplier, affiliate)
  • the date or period of the action that gave rise to the complaint
  • the nature of your concerns or complaint
  • the name of the Director or employee involved in the matter if applicable
  • copies of any documentation that supports your concerns
  • what you would like the outcome of your complaint to be

‍

Privacy and Confidentiality

We will use the information provided to us only for the purposes of addressing your concerns unless you consent to its disclosure.  Any personal information will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

‍

How and when we will respond

We will address your complaint or concern promptly.  Any significant health and safety issues will be addressed immediately. Otherwise, we will acknowledge your complaint in writing by email within 3 working days or if this is not available to you by mail within 5 working days of receiving it.

Once it has been received, we will commence a review of the circumstances surrounding the complaint.  We will address your concerns in an equitable, objective, and unbiased manner.

We may need to get further information from you to fully assess the situation and will contact you if this is necessary.

We will try to reach a satisfactory resolution within 20 working days of receiving your complaint, but this may not always be possible. If we are unable to, we will write to you to let you know the reasons for the delay and indicate to you when we expect to be in a position to complete our review.

Once we have completed our review of the circumstances of your complaint, we will provide you with a written response addressing each of your concerns.

‍

What if you are not satisfied with our response?

Our aim is to resolve the issues to your satisfaction, however, if you are unhappy with the response or outcome received, you can ask for it to be reconsidered. Such a request should address the specific reasons for your dissatisfaction and be made in writing to the Complaints Officer and forwarded by post, email or fax to the address provided above.  We will acknowledge receipt of your request by email or facsimile within 3 working days or if this is not available to you by mail within 5 working days of receiving it. A final written response will be provided within 10 working days of receipt.

‍

Our Commitment to you

The quality of the service we provide and the satisfaction of our clients and others is especially important to us.  We take this process seriously and as a valuable opportunity to improve our service and the way we interact with our clients and others. All complaints will be analysed by Management to identify recurring issues and changes will be made to systems and processes as considered necessary.

Should have suggestions to improve the process please let our Complaints Officer know.  We will review our complaints handling process on a regular basis and make changes based on feedback.

‍

Assistance

If you need help in putting together the information or any other aspect of these guidelines, please contact Ash Nadan directly.


×

Terms of Engagement

‍

Any engagement of AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd as your accountant, and/or registered tax agent is governed by our obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (“TASA”), the professional pronouncements issued by our professional body, Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and our terms of engagement as contained in your engagement letter and herein.

The following terms of engagement apply to all engagements undertaken by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd and must be read in conjunction with your Engagement Letter which sets out; the scope of the engagement, the fee estimate for the engagement and any terms specific to your engagement.

To avoid doubt, in any instances where the terms contained herein, contradict the terms agreed to in your engagement letter, the terms contained in your engagement letter shall be deemed to take priority.

‍

Our Commitment To You

We confirm that we are registered as a tax agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), our Registered Agent Number is 260 44 955, and appropriately qualified and legally authorised to provide the services we offer to our clients. We will notify you immediately should any of our registrations, qualifications or licenses required to undertake an engagement be suspended or terminated before the conclusion of the engagement.

We undertake to carry out the work we are engaged to perform in a professional and ethical manner on a timely basis.

We undertake to inform you, our client, of various taxation and regulatory changes via our blog posts and newsletters which are available from our website. Our clients are welcome to call us for further information or to clarify any issues of concern to them.

‍

Responsibilities of the Parties

It is necessary that you provide all information which may be relevant to the completion of the engagement. We will advise you of the date by which we need to receive your information in order to ensure completion of the engaged task(s) on a timely basis.

In the event that all necessary information is not provided when requested, we cannot guarantee that the engaged task(s) will be completed by lodgement due date and/or to the standard required by legislation and therefore you may be subject to penalties imposed by the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) or other regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”).

This engagement is performed by us using the information and data provided by you, our client. Accordingly, any advice provided by us is only an opinion based on our knowledge and understanding of your particular circumstances. Any tax returns prepared by us on your behalf, including any schedules or elections contained therein, are subject to the same limitations.

We will exercise reasonable care, as contemplated by the TASA, when conducting this engagement, but ultimately the responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information used by us vests with you.

You are responsible for the information contained in any activity statement or tax return prepared by us on your behalf.

Should you become aware of any errors or omissions in the information relied upon by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd as the basis of any advice provided to you or used to prepare your activity statement, financial statements or tax return, it is your responsibility to contact us to ensure that any advice provided is still applicable to your circumstances, or where necessary, to arrange for an amendment to be made to any documents, financial statements or tax returns so affected.

Failure to do so immediately may result in the ATO applying penalties and/or interest charges in addition to any shortfall tax amounts or increasing the severity of any penalties that may be applicable or possibly lead to prosecution and imprisonment. Objections and amendments are also subject to time limits imposed by the ATO and failure to notify us of any changes in a timely fashion may result in us being unable to adjust your return.

Unless specifically set out in the scope of our engagement, we will not audit or verify the accuracy of the information received and our engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose any error, fraud or other misstatements in the information. However, we will exercise reasonable care, as contemplated by TASA when reviewing information, you provide us and will advise you of any apparent deficiencies which come to our attention in the course of the engagement.

Under the self-assessment system, any tax returns lodged on your behalf are generally accepted by the ATO at face value without adjustment. Even though you may receive a notice of assessment, which creates the formal obligation to pay tax, your return may be subject to further review or verification. The ATO period of review is usually two to four years from the date your notice of assessment is issued.

Should a tax return lodged on your behalf be subject to an audit or review by the ATO, you have certain rights and options, including the right to object and the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal should a dispute with the ATO arise.

It is your responsibility to keep all the records, receipts, logbooks, travel diaries, minutes and other documentation used to prepare your tax return. If you are claiming tax deductions, you must keep written evidence to verify your claims for those deductions to comply with your substantiation obligations imposed under Australian taxation law.

Such records must generally be kept for a period of five years from the date your notice of assessment is issued, note however other legislation may require you to retain some or all of your records for longer periods of time. We will not take responsibility for any failure on your behalf to maintain adequate records.

If you are aware of any conflicts of interest which exist in respect of our engagement, or which may arise during the course of our engagement, you must advise us immediately upon becoming aware of the conflict of interest.

Advice provided to you during the course of this engagement may require acting upon to ensure that you comply with the law or statutory lodgement deadlines. Occasionally action may need to be taken within strict time limits. AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damages arising as a result of your failure to act upon advice provided to you, or failure to act within the time limits specified on any particular advice.

This engagement should in no way be construed to diminish your responsibility to understand and comply with any obligations imposed upon you by law.

‍

Code of Conduct

We are bound by the codes of professional conduct mandated under the TASA and the regulations of the Institute of Chartered Account Australia and New Zealand), in addition to all legal obligations and responsibilities imposed by Commonwealth and State legislation.

Other key elements of the TASA code of professional conduct include the following requirements:

  • To act honestly and with integrity;
  • To be independent in our interpretation and application of the law to your situation;
  • To advise you, and take appropriate corrective action, where a conflict of interest arises in respect of this engagement;
  • To discharge our duties competently in carrying out the assignment(s) mutually agreed upon;
  • To advise you of your rights and obligations under the TASA.

‍

Lien over Documents

In relation to any subsequent termination of our services, you are advised that we shall not exercise any lien over any documents, regardless of whether fees have been paid in full or not.

‍

Ownership of Documents

The final financial statements, activity statements, tax returns and any other documents which we are specifically engaged to prepare, together with any other original documents given to us shall remain your property. Any other documents brought into existence by us including general journals, working papers, the general ledger, draft financial statements and/or tax returns, will remain our property at all times. However, we will provide you with copies of any documents that you may require from time to time upon request.

‍

Dispute Resolution

We aim to provide the highest standard of professional service and are focused on the concerns of our clients. If for any reason you feel you have not received the service level expected or have an issue to raise, please, at first instance, contact your accountant to discuss how the problem may be resolved.

Furthermore, as members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in public practice, we are subject to the ethical requirements of the Institute and its Investigations and Disciplinary processes. These requirements cover issues such as a Code of Conduct of Members in Public Practice, Ethics, adherence to Accounting standards, requirements to undertake Continuing Professional Development. Should there be an issue regarding the ethical or business practices of our firm, such matters may be referred to the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand for investigation. However, as the accounting profession does not have regulated fees, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand will not investigate purely fee-based disputes but may recommend the parties seek mediation to resolve such disputes.

The Tax Practitioners Board may also be contacted to investigate instances where the TASA Code of Professional Conduct may have been breached.

‍

Quality Review & Trust Account Audit

We currently do not have a Trust Account at the time of writing this document. Should we open a Trust account or be required to open one in the future we will have to meet our obligations as members of Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand requires that our firm be subject to periodic quality assurance reviews, as well as an annual audit of our trust account. By engaging our firm, you are consenting to your files being provided to the auditor or reviewer for review as part of these processes.

‍

Previous Accountant

As a matter of professional courtesy, and in line with the requirements of the professional accounting bodies we will need to inform your previous accountant (if any) that we have been engaged by you as your new accountant and to receive from them any outstanding matters and files. You may refuse to provide this information but in doing so may cause problems in the efficient transfer of your files.

‍

Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information

To enable us to perform the tasks specified in your Engagement Letter it is necessary for us collect and maintain certain personal information which includes your Tax File Number (“TFN”).

We are authorised to collect your TFN in accordance with the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Information provided to us in the course of this engagement will be subject to confidentiality in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles contained therein and as per the AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd privacy policy will generally not be disclosed to third parties except;

  1. as required by law, or
  2. with your consent, or
  3. at your request, or
  4. where it is necessary to complete the tasks for which you have engaged us, or
  5. as specifically outlined under our terms of engagement.

For the purposes of point 5 above by engaging AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd you are consenting to your personal information being disclosed as follows;

Where AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd  requires the services of a third party you authorise us under this engagement to disclose any of your personal information to a third party engaged on your behalf, or to procure the services of a third party on your behalf, to the extent the information is necessary for them to undertake any task that is required of them by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd to complete the tasks for which they were engaged by you.

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd may disclose your personal information to third party service providers to AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd, such as tax and accounting software providers, cloud based accounting software (e.g., CGT Reporter, BGL Simple Fund) or storage providers (eg, Google Drive), external auditors, banks, the ATO, the Tax Practitioners Board, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and/or other recognised professional accounting bodies to the extent the information is necessary for them to provide essential services to AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd to allow our business to operate or meet our professional or statutory obligations.

‍

Electronic Data, Storage & Management

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd operates on a paperless basis, meaning that we store your records electronically. We use off site email storage, online banking facilities, and we use online and cloud based accounting systems and document storage facilities including, but not limited to, Online Services for Tax Agents, Xero, Saasu, Reckon Online, MYOB Essentials, Sage One, Dropbox, One Drive & iCloud. The cloud storage facilities and IT servers operated by these providers may be located outside of Australia.

While we make every reasonable effort to maintain data stored in these platforms securely, using methods such as  anti-virus software, encryption, digital certificates, myGov ID, Auskey, password protection and two step identification where available, we advise you that no computer system is free from risk of data breach.

Accordingly as part of these terms of engagement you agree to indemnify and release AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd from all claims for damages arising from the use of cloud based storage or cloud based accounting services arising or resulting from the provision of our services to you.

 

Jurisdiction

Our contract with you for services to be supplied will be governed solely by Australian Law and any dispute shall be referred exclusively to a Court or other appropriate tribunal within the jurisdiction of Australia.

We note that all information acquired by our firm is collected in accordance with our privacy policy which complies with the Privacy Act 1988. A copy of our Privacy Policy Disclosure Statement is available for review upon request and on our website.

Under the Professional Standards Act 2003 (Vic) and the Scheme approved under that Act, the liability of the firm, its partners, associates and employees or contractors is limited.

‍

Electronic Communication

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd will communicate with you and with others on your behalf by email as our primary method of written correspondence. Email communications sent without encryption can be intercepted and may be read by a third party. Other potential risks include non-delivery or failure to read an email in a timely manner.

In this regard, you agree to indemnify and release AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd from all claims arising from the use of email in our communication with you or the communication we undertake in the course of carrying out our assignment on your behalf or in accordance with your instructions.

‍

Workplace Health & Safety

As an employer concerned with the welfare of staff, we ensure that AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd provides a safe workplace in accordance with workplace health and safety requirements. In the event that staff members of AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd are required to visit your premises, it is on the understanding that you comply with all Workplace Health and Safety Standards.

Any visiting AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd staff member(s) are authorised to leave your premises if in their assessment there is a workplace hazard that endangers their well-being, and that hazard cannot be remedied immediately.

‍

Referrals to Other Service Providers

In the course of performing this engagement, we may encounter situations that require specialist advice, or services that are necessary for us to complete the engagement which AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd is not qualified to provide. Examples of such services include legal advice, financial advice, actuarial services, audit services, insolvency services, business and property valuations, title searches and depreciation or quantity surveyor reports.

In expectation of these situations, AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd maintains a network of referral partners and will advise you when we believe their services are necessary to enable us to complete of our engagement.

At no stage under the terms of this engagement are you under any obligation to use a third party service provider that we recommend and we undertake to give you the option to direct us to use an alternate, appropriately qualified, service provider of your choice.

Where AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd requires the services of a third party you authorise us under this engagement to disclose any of your personal information to a third party engaged on your behalf, or to procure the services of a third party on your behalf, to the extent the information is necessary for them to undertake any task that is required of them to complete this engagement.

Unless otherwise noted, any costs incurred will be either invoiced to you directly by the third-party service provider or invoiced to you by us at cost, in addition to our professional fees. AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd may receive a commission or referral fee from its referral partners which will be disclosed to you.

‍

Professional Fees and Payments

Our fees and charges for services provided to you will generally be determined as outlined in your engagement letter.

Our professional fees for the services provided to you will be based on the time and degree of skill and acumen required to complete the tasks required.

Our professional fees are (Exclusive of GST):

Managing Partner                                 $300 per hour

Senior Accounting Staff                       $200 per hour

Junior Accounting Staff                        $150 per hour

Bookkeeper                                           $90 per Hour

Secretarial Services                              $110 per hour

For work undertaken for periods of less than an hour, the rate shall be charged in 15-minute blocks or part thereof. The rates shown above do not include GST.

Our fees are exclusive of any disbursements, out of pocket expenses or expenses incurred on your behalf for third party services essential to completing an engagement such as ASIC fees, actuarial certificates or valuation reports required for capital gains tax purposes.

‍

Terms of Payment

Unless stated otherwise on our invoice or your engagement letter, our terms of payment are strictly 7 days from the date of each invoice.

We will provide you with an itemised account of professional fees, costs, and disbursements upon request.

For certain types of engagements or work requiring outlays or large commitments by Austax we may require an upfront retainer and/or a personal guarantee from one or more of your associates, for example the directors of a company may be required to guarantee payment on behalf of the company.

Services to be provided by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd may be suspended where there are outstanding invoices for previous work performed under an engagement. This includes not lodging an activity statement, income tax return or other statutory return on your behalf until such time as any outstanding accounts are settled in full.

Where, as the result of your failure to settle an account within the terms stipulated, your tax return or other statutory lodgement is lodged late, you hereby agree to indemnify Austax from any liability to compensate you for any late lodgement fines, penalties or interest charges imposed by the ATO, ASIC or any other regulatory body.

Should your account become overdue, it is your responsibility to advise AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd once payment has been made in full, and, to confirm with your accountant that any outstanding returns have been lodged.

‍

Duration of Engagement

Our engagement will commence upon acceptance by AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd of a correctly signed Engagement Letter from you and continue until the completion of the engaged tasks. Where the scope of the engagement includes the provision of recurring services, our engagement will continue until it is either terminated in writing by either party, or the engagement is superseded by signing of a new engagement letter.

Where we are unable to complete an engagement due to your failure or refusal to; comply with the law; comply with our advice, instructions, directions or requests; sign a tax document prepared by us on your behalf; provide the necessary information for us to complete the engagement; or, the termination of this engagement by either party, all fees incurred for work performed under this engagement up to that point will become due and payable by you immediately.

‍

Varying the Terms of Engagement

AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd reserves the right to change these Terms of Engagement at any time, and any amended Terms of Engagement are effective upon posting to this Website. AMN Accounting, Tax & Advisory Pty Ltd will make every effort to communicate any significant changes to you via e-mail or by having you sign an updated Engagement Letter. Your continued use of our services will be deemed acceptance of any amended Terms of Engagement.