Alexanders Newsletter - October 2007 Issue
Welcome to the October edition of our online newsletter
In this Issue
In this edition we have some interesting articles in regard to ATO changes, risk management & environmental management. We anticipate that these articles will equip you with some with useful information for your business. If you require any more information on these articles or on anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Sheriff Iskander and the team at Alexanders.

6 steps to reducing business risk

  1. Identify the risks applicable to your business.
  2. Establish the probability of these events occurring and the possible impact on your business.
  3. Prioritise the risks (use a scale of 1 to 10 to evaluate the risks)
  4. Work out a strategy for reducing the likelihood of the risk occurring (although some risks will be a high priority but the costs of doing something about it may be more than the likelihood of the event occurring)
  5. Develop a plan in the event that the risk becomes a reality. Review and monitor your risk management plan.
  6. Start the year with your numbers in place.

Proposed deadlines for ATO income tax audits

Deadline date

Proposed changes put forward by the federal government will limit the time the ATO has to conduct audits on your income tax returns. These changes put forward in a discussion paper by the Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton would allow tax payers to have some closure on their prior years tax returns, which at present does not happen due to the 107 technicalities under the current laws.

The main changes that are proposed are as follows;

  • Possible amendments to or retraction of the 107 amendments to the 2005 tax laws. Although the changes that were introduced in 2005 meant that many tax payers’ could only have their tax return adjusted within 2 years by the ATO, these 100+ exceptions existed that meant that their was still a chance that the ATO could audit their return.
  • An 8 year limit on investigation of business’ on transfer price fixing and for alleged shifting of taxable income overseas.

These proposed changes by the ATO are backed by many professionals in the industry because of the fact that taxpayers’ can finally draw closure on previous income tax returns. However taxpayers’ that intentionally attempt to defraud the ATO will never be safe from potential income tax audits from the ATO.

Environmental Management for SME’s

Environment

Whether your business is large or small, it could still have a detrimental impact on our environment. By following a few simple guidelines we can all help to make a difference to our environment and limit the impact from our business.

  • Conduct an environmental audit – this will enable you to see how much energy you use and the amount of waste that you dispose of. It will also let you to see how your business impacts on the environment.
  • Develop a recycling and waste reduction culture – create a recycling program in the workplace for paper, plastics, glass and even electronic equipment. This will help to reduce the quantity of waste that you dispose of.
  • Lower your water & energy needs – the easiest way to save water is by ensuring that all leaking and dripping taps are fixed. Effortless ways in which to conserve energy include turning off lights and equipment when they are not in use. The straightforward actions will allow your business to save money and reduce their impact on the environment.
  • Seek recognition for your environmental efforts – once these practices are in place and functioning well, put your business in the spotlight and apply for an award.
  • Take advantage of grants & assistance – grants can be accessed for environmental plans and projects from federal, state and territory governments.
  • Dispose of toxics appropriately – develop a plan to make sure that all employees dispose of all toxic substances in a safe and effective manner.
  • Get the whole team on board – meet with employees to help promote and encourage positive ideas for environmental management.
  • Purchase eco friendly products – buy products that are more environmentally sound. (when available)
  • Check out environmental legislation – keeping on top of the changes in environmental legislation, licensing and labelling requirements is a key step toward greening your business.

To find out more information on environmental management please visit www.business.gov.au

ATO to crackdown on Super Contributions

Super contributions

Employers have been warned by the ATO to make sure that they make compulsory superannuation contributions on behalf of their employees. The ATO has announced that it will increase the number of superannuation compliance staff to 250 for the 2007/08 financial year. With this increase in staffing levels they anticipate to complete around 10,000 compliance checks on superannuation accounts.

The ATO will be directing a lot of their attention to new superannuation fund registrants. This means that funds that have been established in the last 12 months will be closely monitored. This is being done for two reasons;

  • to improve the public’s certainty in the ATO’s role as the regulator of self managed super funds.
  • to educate new super funds in a hope to improve compliance levels. The ATO believe that by engaging in early intervention will lead to reduced compliance problems.

A key change that was implemented from July 1st was the superannuation funds now must have the TFN of all their members. This change by the Government will allow people to derive more from their super. If your superfund does not have your tax file number (TFN) on file, you could possibly be obligated to pay a higher tax rate on contributions. Please note that the onus to provide the employee’s TFN is on both the employer and employee. However employers that do not pass on an employee’s TFN could face penalties.

The timeframes in which an employer must give an employee’s TFN to their nominated super fund are as follows;

  • for existing employees – when the next super contribution is paid for them.
  • for new employees – when the first employer contribution is paid for them.
  • or within 14days  of receiving an employees TFN declaration form.

Employers that currently have no obligations to pay contributions for employees earning minimal amounts (less than $450 a month) are not affected by these changes.


Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.

--Peter F. Drucker

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is not advice but is information of a general nature only. This is not a comprehensive coverage of any of the matters raised and we therefore recommend that before acting on any of the matters raised in this general newsletter, that you should discus the matter with us. This newsletter is provided to clients of Alexanders Accountants as a helpful guide and for their private usage only. We accept no responsibility to any other person acting on any of the information in this newsletter. We will not be responsible for any action taken by our clients who choose to act without seeking our prior consultation.