Newsletter – August 2024

August 2024 Newsletter

Contents:

  • Victorian Carbon Farming Program
  • ATO to Crack Down on Amazon, eBay Sellers’ Tax Affairs
  • $1,337 ATO penalty hitting thousands more Aussies
  • A rundown of the First Home Super Saver Scheme
  • Company charged over death of fatigued driver
  • What to do when you inherit shares
  • Announcements

Victorian Carbon Farming Program

The $15.3 million Victorian Carbon Farming Program (VCFP) provides an opportunity for private landholders to reduce emissions and build resilience to a changing climate. This program will support private landholders to:

          • plant woodlot, agroforestry and shelterbelt trees
          • leverage opportunities available from timber, carbon or environmental markets
          • realise on-farm co-benefits such as shade and shelter for stock, soil improvement or improved farm aesthetics

ATO to Crack Down on Amazon, eBay Sellers’ Tax Affairs

Increased Scrutiny on Online Sellers
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will now receive details of accounts generating over $12,000 annually to identify hobbyists-turned-businesses and those misreporting income. This move aims to enhance the ATO’s understanding of online sellers’ behavior and compliance.
 
 

$1,337 ATO penalty hitting thousands more Aussies

Thousands of Aussies are set to be stung by a little-known tax penalty when they lodge their tax returns. The Medicare Levy Surcharge is a penalty that applies if you earn over a certain amount and don’t have private health insurance.

More than half a million Aussies paid the Medicare Levy Surcharge in 2021-22, the latest Australian Taxation Office (ATO) statistics found. That’s up 21 per cent or 110,000 people from the previous year, and up 50 per cent over two years.

 

A rundown of the First Home Super Saver Scheme

Grandchildren challenging estates is becoming a growth area that shows no signs of slowing down, says a legal professional.
Matthew Burgess, director of View Legal, said tougher financial times will likely further stimulate the industry, with an area of particular expansion related to cases where aggrieved grandchildren have been granted greater entitlements out of a deceased estate than what they had been allocated by the will maker.
 

Company charged over death of fatigued driver

 
It is not news to anybody that housing is unaffordable. The government has put in place Band-Aid solutions that they believe will make housing more accessible for those looking to break into the property market in a variety of first home buyer’s schemes.
 

What to do when you inherit shares

Implications of inheriting or bequeathing shares.
 
I recently wrote an article on what to do when you inherit a house. The intergenerational wealth transfer will see many assets bequeathed. Most of these assets won’t be cash. Share portfolios are a common way that beneficiaries will receive assets – especially when the owner is an income investor that is living off dividends without drawing down on the capital of the portfolio.

Announcements:

This month we congratulate Jo (13) and Paul (18) on achieving a work anniversary with Watts Price!
We also wish a very happy birthday to Phoebe, Paul and Hayley! ​​
 
Joanne Dreckow

Paul Mackereth

Phoebe McPherson

 

Important ATO Dates

Lodgement Program  Date
SGL Increase to 11.5% 01/07/2024
Minimum Wage to increase by 3.75% 01/07/2024
Employers to Lodge their Single Touch Payroll (STP) finalisation report with ATO 14/07/2024
PAYG withholding payment summary annual report  14/08/2024
July monthly activity statements 21/08/2024
Final date for eligible monthly GST reporters to elect to report GST annually. 21/08/2024
Taxable payments annual report (Building & Construction services; Cleaning services; Courier or Road freight; Information Technology; Security, Investigation or Surveillance services) 28/08/2024
   

Other News

QuickBooks Online Price Changes

All purchases of new subscriptions made on or after 7 August 2024 will be at the new prices in the table below.

For all subscriptions purchased prior to 7 August 2024, the new prices will apply from a customers’ first billing date after 23 October 2024.

Product New price (from 7 Aug 2024)
Simple Start $29.00
Essentials $45.00
Plus $60.00
Payroll per employee paid $6.00 per employee

 Prices are inclusive of GST

 

 

All Australian taxpayers will receive a tax cut

The Australian Government has made changes to individual income tax rates and thresholds. This will apply to all taxable income you earn from 1 July 2024. The changes will not impact your 2023–24 tax return. From 1 July this year, these changes will:
  • reduce the 19 per cent tax rate to 16 per cent
  • reduce the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent
  • increase the 37 per cent tax threshold from $120,000 to $135,000
  • increase the 45 per cent tax threshold from $180,000 to $190,000
Thresholds in 2024–25 ($) Rates in 2024–25 (%)
0 – 18,200 Tax free
18,201 – 45,000 16
45,001 – 135,000 30
135,001 – 190,000 37
Over 190,000 45
 
All the best from the Watts Price Team!