4th Quarter 2013

INCOME SUPPORT BONUS

The Income Support Bonus commenced on 20 March 2013 and will be paid to recipients of Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment Partnered, Parenting Payment Single, Sickness Allowance, Special Benefit, ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Austudy, Transitional Farm Family Payment and Exceptional Circumstances Payment.

The Income Support Bonus will be paid around late March and late September each year and will be indexed to CPI twice annually, in March and September from September 2013, to ensure payment rates keep pace with inflation.

BABY BONUS CHANGES

The amount of Baby Bonus payment for second and subsequent children who come into a family from 1 July 2013 will be reduced from $5,000 to $3,000. The Baby Bonus will continue to be paid at the rate of $5,000 (13 fortnightly instalments) for a family’s first child, and for each child who comes into the family in a multiple birth, adoption or entrustment to care.

The payment rate for Baby Bonus will be reviewed in June 2015.

FAMILY TAX BENEFIT MAXIMUM RATE TO INCREASE

From 1 July 2013, the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A will increase by $300 a year for families with one child and by $600 per year for families with two or more children. The base rate of Family Tax Benefit will increase by $100 per year for families with one child and by $200 per year for families with two or more children.

Dad and Partner Pay provides eligible dads or partners with financial support to be able to take time off work to bond with their baby and to support mums or partners in the vital early months of their baby’s life.

Dad and Partner Pay is a new payment under the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme. It is now available to eligible working dads or partners who care for a child born or adopted from 1 January 2013. It provides eligible working dads or partners (including adopting parents and same-sex couples) with up to two weeks of government-funded pay at the National Minimum Wage (currently about $606 per week before tax).

Dad and Partner Pay is funded by the Australian Government. Employers do not have an administrative role and it will be paid directly by the Australian Government.

You and your employee will need to discuss and agree on unpaid leave arrangements and your employee will have to apply for Dad and Partner Pay themselves.

Eligible dads or partners must:

• be caring for a child born or adopted from 1 January 2013;
• be an Australian resident;
• have worked for at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the start date of their Dad and Partner Pay period;
• have worked for at least 330 hours in that 10 month period (just over one day a week), with no more than an eight week gap between two consecutive working days
• have an individual adjusted taxable income of $150,000 or less in the previous financial year; and
• not be receiving paid leave or not working during the Dad and Partner Pay period.

Dad and Partner Pay can be taken any time in the first year after birth or adoption.

In addition to Dad and Partner Pay, families may be eligible for other family assistance such as Paid Parental Leave or Baby Bonus and Family Tax Benefit.

For more information call the Business hotline on 131 158.

This program is called the WorkCover Data Matching Program and it enables the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to:

• identify and address the compliance behaviour of employers who may not be correctly meeting their taxation obligations; and
• be more strategic in its approach to determine appropriate educational and compliance strategies to encourage voluntary taxation compliance by employers.

The ATO will collect names and addresses of employer entities from the following state and territory WorkCover sources for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years:

• WorkSafe Victoria
• WorkCover South Australia
• WorkCover New South Wales
• WorkCover Queensland
• WorkCover Western Australia
• WorkCover Northern Territory
• WorkCover Australian Capital Territory
• WorkCover Tasmania

The total number of records Australia-wide is estimated to be 942,000 of which approximately 103,000 will be individuals who are employers. The data acquired will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify employers that may not be complying with their registration, lodgement and payment obligations under taxation law.

The ATO may also disclose information about employers that may not be meeting their obligations under workers compensation laws if requested by the relevant WorkCover authorities. The ATO is legally able to make this disclosure.

This was notified in the Commonwealth Government Gazette Notice C2013G00491.

The Australian Business Register (ABR) recently upgraded its registration services, making it even easier to set up a business. As part of the online Australian business number (ABN) application, you can now register for:

• a business name - for individuals and organisations with an Australian Company Number or Australian Registered Body Number;
• an AUSkey; and
• GST/fuel tax credits and PAYG withholding.

Some of your details will be pre-filled from one registration to the next.

If you choose not to apply for these registrations at the same time as your ABN application, you can apply at a later date but will need to do so directly with each agency.

ABN REGISTRATION TIPS

To prevent delays in the online process, make sure:

• you are entitled to an ABN – you must have started trading or have undertaken business commencement activities to trade in Australia;
• you provide the correct date of birth;
• the business address is a street address (for example, 123 Smith Street, Smithfield) – do not use a post office box number, RMB (roadside mail box) or other delivery point address. You can use the home address if you operate a home-based business or are a contractor who works at different sites;
• you do not include – phrases such as ‘trading as’, ‘ATF’, ‘liquidation’ or ‘the body corporate for’ in the legal name – the name of the trustee in the legal name of the trust (for example, Smith Pty Ltd as trustee for the Smith Family Trust) – phrases such as ‘t/tee’, ‘exec’ or ‘exec for’;
• the legal name for a Corporations Act company matches the name registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – this must be an exact match including all full stops and character spacing; and
• the earliest ABN start date is the date of incorporation (if the company is registered with ASIC).

While you are not legally required to provide a TFN, if you don’t, the online application may fail if the data listed above does not exactly match the information the ATO holds. In the case of a partnership, trust, or company, make sure you provide the TFN for associated individuals or entities.