Income tax laws have been around for a long time, with the current income tax legislation essentially drawn from statutes first introduced in 1936 and 1997 (respectively the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997). Fringe benefits tax legislation was introduced in 1986 (Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986) and the … Read more
We remind TaxEd member employers of two key conditions of the car parking fringe benefit rules that must be satisfied prior to there being any FBT liability. These issues are particularly important for TaxEd employers providing parking outside major CBD areas where it can be expected the car parking FBT criteria are more likely to … Read more
Regulation 8 of the FBT Regulations prescribes benefits relating to pooled or shared cars as being excluded fringe benefits. Fringe benefits which are excluded fringe benefits are not included in the employee’s reportable fringe benefits amount. Where such a pooled or shared use exists during the year the benefit is an excluded fringe benefit in … Read more
The Commissioner has published various FBT rates/amounts that will apply for the fringe benefit tax year commencing 1 April 2017. These are identified below: 1. Exemption Threshold – s. 135C TD 2017/2 updates the exemption threshold for the new FBT year: ‘The exemption threshold for the fringe benefits tax (FBT) year commencing 1 April 2017 … Read more
The most recent minutes of the States and Territories Industry Partnership were published in March 2017. They relate to the meeting held on 5 October 2016. (Readers seeking greater contextual clarity should refer to TaxEd’s newsletter of September 2016, which discussed the minutes of the April 2016 meeting.) The following points are noteworthy: Unimproved Land … Read more
Business Benchmarks – Are you maximising your potential to generate funds for NFP activities? NFPs that engage in commercial activities in order to raise funds to support their NFP activities can check the performance of their business activities against benchmark data assembled by the ATO. This may be a useful guide in indicating whether your … Read more
Question Employees are reimbursed for meals and 2 standard drinks as part of our general policy when dining while travelling on business trips involving an overnight stay. However, sometimes they consume more than 2 standard drinks. If we reimburse them for the drinks over and above the 2 standard drinks allowed, how is this to … Read more
Question We are considering the purchase of a new vehicle, where it is intended that the driver of the vehicle will have access for full business use, and will also have private use, allowing them to drive the vehicle strictly to and from their home to work. Assuming similar purchasing and operating costs, would it … Read more
Question Are there any fringe benefits implications for reimbursement of the cost of annual driver’s licence renewal fees? Does it depend on the type of driver’s licence? For example, some employees are required to hold endorsed licences that allow them to drive heavy vehicles as part of their job role, in addition to their car licences. … Read more
Question We provide car fringe benefits to our staff and we require them to keep a log book so as we can have the option of using this method to value the benefit and use it if it comes in under the statutory formula value. Are we required to obtain closing odometer records as at … Read more