Have a HELP Debt? Don't expect a balance or repayment statement from the ATO...

Last Wednesday (03 April 2013), the ATO no longer issuing HELP statements Australian Tax Office (ATO) announced they will no longer issue an annual statement for Australians with a HELP or Financial Supplement debt.

Apart from making it harder to keep track of your outstanding government debts, these changes make it harder for you to estimate your expected compulsory repayment amount on your tax return.

Fortunately, there are still a couple of ways to get an updated balance on your HELP account…

ATO Collects Your Financial Information to Snare Tax Cheats in 2013

Did you know that the ATO can access information from ATO-catching-tax-cheats YOUR employer, bank, super fund, credit card, insurance funds, government departments and more? They have powerful ways to check that the information you’ve declared on your tax return is correct.

In 2011-12 the Australian Tax Office intercepted and blocked about 8000 inaccurate or fraudulent tax returns and in 2013 they’re looking to increase these numbers.

23,300 TFNs Compromised Last Year

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has revealed that
23,300 Australians had their tax file number compromised in the 2012 financial year, up from 22,000 the previous year.

In an effort to combat the rise in identity fraud and compromised returns, the ATO has embarked on an intensive audit campaign...

Trans-Tasman transfer of retirement savings may be possible in 2013

The federal government is drafting new legislation to trans-tasman-savings-portability-scheme establish a ‘trans-Tasman savings portability scheme’ in an effort to help people who move between Australia and New Zealand better manage their retirement savings.

Currently, Australian and New Zealand citizens working in Australia are unable to take their superannuation with them if they move permanently to New Zealand (or vice versa).

Under the new scheme, people will be permitted to transfer their superannuation savings between an Australian super-fund and a New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme.

ATO blocks $40 million of false payments

In the past financial year the Australian Tax Office has reportedly blocked more than $40 million worth of payments that would have gone to criminals who committed identity theft.

While these figures show that the ATO’s crackdown on fraudulent returns is garnering results, somewhat worryingly, officials from the ATO have little idea about how much money they might have payed out on fraudulent returns.

A recent ninemsn freedom-of-information study found that in 2011-12 the ATO has intercepted nearly 8000 fraudulent returns...

New carbon tax had no effect on inflation

Private analysts TD Securities-Melbourne Institute’s inflation
gauge rose 0.6 per cent during August, but according to their head of Asia Pacific business, Annette Beacher, there does not appear to be any noticeable impact from the introduction of the Carbon Tax.

A few goods and services increased in price during August which contributed to the 0.6% increase, however there were also a number of items whose prices fell over the same period. For example, fruit, vegetable, petrol, alcohol and tobacco prices rose sharply in August, offset by lower prices for footwear, holiday travel, accommodation and computing equipment.

Average tax refund more than $2,300

As we’re now more than half way through the 2012 tax Average ato refund. Etax Accountants blog post season, we’ve decided to take a look at the ATO-issued average tax refund for 2012. How does your refund compare?

This year the ATO has received 5,453,000 tax returns so far this tax year. So far they’ve processed 4,794,000 returns with 4,224,000 tax payers receiving a refund.

Income Tax Breaks could mean more $$$ in your pocket!

With the government tax forum drawing to a close last week, one tax breaks mean more money in your pocket significant proposal on income tax seems to have gained some traction.

While not committing to a specific timeframe, Treasure Wayne Swan explained that government is in the planning stages of raising the tax free threshold to $21,000 – a move that would also abolish the low income tax offset and go a long way towards simplifying income tax in Australia.

As part of its Carbon Tax compensation package, the government already plans to increase the tax free threshold...

Government Will Match Your Tax-Deductible Donations

Kevin Rudd announced a dollar-for-dollar ‘donation matching’ program with the Government set to join Australians fighting the famine disaster in Eastern Africa

With the UN estimating 750,000 people could die in the Horn of Africa in the next four months, the Federal Government is joining forces with caring Australians in a bid to save lives. The Government has promised to match every tax-deductible donation Australians give to aid efforts in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa.

"We set no limits. However much they raise, we're serious about it: We'll match it dollar for dollar," he said.

This is a key moment to make a tax-deductible donation to one of the many charities involved in famine relief...

Australians Want the Wealthy to Pay More Tax

60% of respondents in a recent ACTU survey would support raising taxes for wealthy-to-pay-more-tax-etax-accountants Australia’s highest income earners.

Major findings of the ACTU study include:

Support for raising taxes for people who earn more than $200,000 per year.

ATO Continues to Improve its Auditing Process

This tax season, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is using more advanced computers to detect suspicious and fraudulent tax returns.

ATO director Ross Barns explains that their auditing system continues to be refined in an effort to effectively handle the 12 million+ individual tax returns they process each year.

Currently, a series of 20 computer models are run on every tax return, with flags raised when taxpayers’ data looks be suspicious.

Tax on Interest Income could be slashed by 50%

interest growth will be easier after interest tax cuts

In the 2010-11 Budget, the Federal government released a discussion paper that should lead to a future 50% tax discount on Interest Income.

Aimed at giving relief to low and middle income earners, Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten claims the discount will benefit up to five million everyday Australians.

Set for introduction in the 2012-2013 financial year, taxpayers will pay 50% less tax on any Interest income received up to $500. In the 2013-2014 financial year, this figure will rise to $1000.

Do you sell on eBay? The ATO is watching.

As the online retail sector continues to outpace traditional bricks and mortar stores, the Australian Tax Office has announced it will look carefully at eBay retailers this tax season.

When eBay was launched in 1999 it was simply an auction site where people could sell household goods they no longer needed. This has changed dramatically over the past 12 years, with eBay sellers now mostly promoting new goods – and the ATO is aware of this.

Generation Y could be losing thousands in tax refunds!

A new Bankwest survey found that many of Australia’s tech-savvy Gen Ys could be missing out on higher tax refunds from the ATO.

The report found that 53% of Gen Ys submit their own return in the hope of saving themselves the Accountant fees.

The Bankwest report says that while the younger generation feel more comfortable doing their own taxes, they might miss out on a long list of deductions available to them – deductions that an accountant would identify.