The ATO are warning everyone not to be too quick to lodge your returns this year for two reasons.
Firstly, Single Touch Payroll (STP) has changed the way in which Employers report wages to the ATO. Therefore anyone working for an Employer with more than 20 employees may not receive a PAYG summary this year. Instead, you will need to have your Accountant/Tax Agent download the details directly from the ATO or you will need to log into/create a MyGov account to access it yourself. Employers have until 31 July 2019 to submit the reports to the ATO, which means anyone preparing earlier than this runs the risk of making an error on their return. STP becomes compulsory for all employers from 1 July 2019 as well, but many small employers have already commenced using STP. The ATO is advising there may be some delays in accessing your information as any new system will almost certainly have some teething problems.
The second area for concern is that the promised tax cuts, via increased offsets, announced in the April 2019 Budget are yet to be passed by Parliament. These will deliver an extra $530 for individuals and $1080 for couples on lodgement of your return. Although the Australian people clearly indicated they wanted these cuts by returning the Morrison Government to power, Labor and the crossbenchers may just ignore the public and refuse to pass the tax savings onto those who asked for it. Therefore, to be certain you receive your full entitlement, you should delay lodgement until after the matter is debated and voted on in Parliament in July.
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