Hawkesbury Bookkeeping

Affordable Bookkeeping Solutions for your Small Business

ATO

Have you lodged your March BAS yet?

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Eligible employers have already received a cash flow boost on their March activity statement account. This is generally $10,000.

If you haven’t lodged your March BAS yet, don’t worry, you’ve still got time. If you’re eligible, the cash flow boost will automatically be credited when the March activity statement is lodged.

The cash flow boost will be credited against anything you owe on that BAS. For example, if you have PAYG withholding and GST payable, the boost will be credited against those amounts and excess credit will be refunded to you.

To find out if you’re eligible, Book a Chat with us or call on 0416 09 33 94. Now is a great time to get your books up-to-date.

AUSKey will no longer work from tonight

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Don’t forget that from midnight tonight you won’t be able to use AUSkey to login to the ATO Business Portal.

AUSkey will be replaced with:

  • myGovID – the Australian Government’s digital identity provider and a new way to prove your identity online. Establish your identity once and use your myGovID to access government services online.
  • Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) – a new Australian Government authorisation service that allows you to link your myGovID to your ABN and manage who can act on behalf of your business online.

Get started today by downloading the myGovID app and setting up your digital identity. Then using RAM; link your ABN to your myGovID so you can work on behalf of your business online.

For more information on accessing online services with myGovID and RAM, please click here or for some tips and tricks please click here.

Assistance for your Business as a result of COVID-19

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The following resources have been provided by Federal and NSW State Governments in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak in Australia.

Australian Government

Australian Taxation Office

Fair Work

Coronavirus and Australian workplace laws

Business.gov.au

Coronavirus information and support for business

The Treasury

Economic Response to the Coronavirus

Department of Health

Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert

NSW Government

Fair Trading NSW

Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQs on consumer and business rights

SafeWork NSW

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advice and guidance for NSW workplaces

NSW Health

COVID-19 – Frequently asked questions

SG Amnesty – a chance to set things right

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If you haven’t paid the right amount of super guarantee (SG) to your workers, the SG amnesty is the time to come forward. If you disclose your SG shortfalls during the amnesty, you can rectify past unpaid SG without incurring charges or penalties.

The SG amnesty runs until 6 September 2020 however, given this is a Sunday, applications are accepted until 11.59pm on Monday 7 September 2020.

SG shortfalls for any quarter between 1 July 1992 and 31 March 2018 may be eligible if you have not been told we are examining your SG obligation for the period your disclosure relates to.

If you disclose your SG shortfalls and are found eligible:

  • you must pay the SG shortfall plus interest
  • any payments you make before 11.59pm on Monday 7 September 2020 in your local time are tax deductible, including payments through a payment plan.

However, you must pay your SG shortfalls (or payment instalments) to remain eligible. If you default on your payment plan, you will no longer be eligible for the amnesty.

It’s important you act on this opportunity now to get your obligations up to date. If you’re aware of any unpaid SG for the periods covered under the amnesty and choose not to come forward, the consequences will be significant. Penalties include:

  • up to 200% penalty on top of the SG and interest you owe (minimum 100% penalty)
  • administration charges ($20 per employee per quarter).

If you’ve been impacted by recent bushfires, we understand that your priority is on your family and community at this time. However, the law doesn’t allow us to vary the due date for lodgment of an SG amnesty application.

Please view other resources:

ATO: Superannuation guarantee amnesty

If you need assistance in lodging SG shortfalls, please Contact Us or Book a Chat.

Information provided by ATO Small Business Newsroom

Don’t let your business become a cyber crime statistic

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Did you know using a simple statement like ‘I don’t like pineapple on my pizza!‘ as a password can take more than one year and costs scammers $107,000 to crack? The reason it’s a great password is it:

  • is easy to remember
  • has 35 characters
  • includes an apostrophe, exclamation mark and spaces.

This is just one of the tips you can find in a range of resources available to help you protect your business. These resources have been developed by us and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) who recently surveyed small businesses about cyber security.

The ACSC found 75% of small business owners surveyed are responsible for their own IT and almost half say they don’t know enough about cyber security.

Take a look at these resources and have a serious think about protecting your business.

Next steps:

Information provided by the ATO Small Business Newsroom