FBT Audits & LAFHA: What You Need to Know
(The Association for Payroll Specialists Journal December 2011 / January 2012)
This article was going to be all about FBT audits and then the Government announced sweeping reforms to the Living Away From Home (LAFH) rules, so here is a summary of the changes (and we’ll get to the audit and compliance activity further on). On Tuesday 29 November 2012, the Government announced proposed measures to address inappropriate exploitation of the tax exemption for LAFH benefits as follows... More
FBT Audits on the Rise (Charter, March 2011)
The ATO has continued to ramp up its FBT compliance and audit activities. For employers, this is a clear warning to review your FBT obligations sooner rather than later. The level of FBT compliance activity we are seeing is unprecedented. In the lead-up to the end of the 2011 FBT year, employers need to be aware of the current and planned ATO activities. FBT is often faced with neglect – this is due to real or perceived complexity, priority of tax issues and a long-held belief that FBT audits do not exist. This article reviews the key findings released by the ATO and key focus area... More
FBT Audits: The ATO Takes Aim at Employers (Taxation in Australia, Feature, December 2011)
The statistics from the recent ATO FBT audit and compliance activities don’t lie. With 70% of employers non-compliant and 69% of employers failing to lodge an FBT return, the ATO has taken a greater aim at employers. The ATO is broadening its approach to the SME and large business sectors. Along with this is an in-depth focus on cars, car parking, living-away-from-home allowances, entertainment, and employee contributions. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has ramped up its FBT compliance and audit activities... More
Plan Early for FBT Returns (Charter, February 2010)
Good FBT risk management dictates a level of commitment all year round. However, the lead up to the 31 March year-end demands an intense focus to ensure the compliance deadline (either in May or June) is met and, more importantly, so that the Public Offcer can confdently sign off that the information in the FBT return is “true and correct”.The task of pulling together the annual FBT return is dreaded by most and rarely is the return prepared in a systematic, managed and controlled fashion. Few employers have an FBT preparation manual... More