Small Business News
ATO winding up lots of companies
Last week (week ending 29 January 2012) despite the public holiday, the ATO and WorkCover issued just under 200 Winding Up Notices. Australian companies may be wound up by the Court if creditors are pursuing the debt owed. In these cases the creditor was ATO or WorkCover.
Insolvency and your Business
Insolvency law has become a generic term for what used to be called company liquidations and bankruptcy. As defined by the Corporations Act, insolvency is the inability to pay debts, as they fall due, out of the debtor’s company resources and refers specifically to businesses and companies. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.
The Legal side of Redundancy: What businesses need to know
Under the National Employment Standards (NES), an employer who is defined as a small business employer is not required to provide redundancy pay. However, an employer may have redundancy pay obligations under an industrial instrument or contract of employment.
Important Dates to Note
December Quarter Super is due on 28th January 2012
Last day for superannuation guarantee contributions to be made to a superannuation provider for quarter 2 2011-12 (1 October - 31 December).
Learn more »
Carrying Forward Losses
Corporate entities are afforded a lot of tax benefits and flexibility in the way that they manage their tax affairs, particularly in their treatment of available tax losses. One such benefit is the ability to carry forward losses accumulated in one income year for deduction against assessable income gained in future years. The general limitation is that the company that incurred the loss must be one and the same entity as the claiming company so in order to utilise a prior year loss, a company must satisfy either the Continuity of Ownership Test or the Same Business Test.
Urgent note - Default assessment letters being sent to non-lodgers
From 12 December 2011, the Australian Tax Office will send default assessment warning letters to some clients of tax agents with overdue income tax returns where the Tax Office has evidence these taxpayers received taxable income in the relevant financial years.
Tips on keeping good records for your Business
Keeping good records requires more than just knowing which records to keep and for how long. It also includes setting up systems and maintaining records in a way that makes it easier for you to monitor the progress of your business to track business is improvement, which items are selling and changes that are required – knowing how best to keep records can be the difference between the failure and success of your business.
ATO Compliance Focus for 2011/12
The Australian Taxation Office recently released its Compliance Focus for the new financial year. The Compliance program expresses the ATO’s particular concerns and their plans to combat them, with a focus on tax and superannuation compliance. A number of their concerns may implicate small business owners, and these are listed below.
Due Diligence in Occupational Health and Safety
Under Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (OHS), all employers have a duty of care to their employees. The most effective way of meeting this duty of care is to integrate health and safety concerns into your planning and implementation strategies. All employers are required to take ‘due diligence’ in the workplace. At its most basic, that simply means that you take care.
Taking the Next Big Step - Is Franchising for You?
Franchising has become one of the most progressive and dynamic business sectors in Australia. With estimated revenue of $128 billion in 2010, franchising has become a significant part of the Australian business scene and a valuable contributor to our economy. If you are thinking about going into business for yourself, but aren’t sure whether you should attempt it on your own or buy a franchise business; then you need to weigh up all the important factors before you make any decisions.
