The ATO has announced some limited relief for private companies that have loans to their shareholders or related parties that are governed by what are referred to as “complying loan agreements”.
A complying loan agreement is entered into to avoid triggering an assessable deemed dividend that could potentially be equal to the amount of the loan from the private company.
The federal government has registered the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Jobkeeper) Payment Regulations 2020.
These regulations ensure that amounts of salary or wages that do not relate to the performance of work and are only paid to an employee to satisfy the wage condition for getting the JobKeeper payment are prescribed by the Regulations as excluded salary or wages.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No 3) Bill 2019 has passed both Houses of Parliament and is now law.
This legislation contains amendments to ensure the tax concessions available to minors in relation to income from a testamentary trust only apply in respect of income generated from assets of the deceased estate that are transferred to the testamentary trust (or the proceeds of the disposal or investment of those assets).
Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No 3) Bill 2020 has passed both Houses of Parliament and is now law.
This legislation amends the income tax law to allow a business with an aggregated turnover for the income year of less than $500 million to immediately deduct the cost of a depreciating asset (instant asset write-off). The asset must cost less than a threshold of $150,000 and be first used or installed ready for use for a taxable purpose by 31 December 2020. Without these amendments the $150,000 instant asset write-off would have ended on 30 June 2020.
By extending the previous end date of 30 June 2020 to 31 December 2020, the amendments give businesses additional time to access the $150,000 instant asset write-off for their acquisitions of depreciating assets, including those purchases that have been delayed by supply chain disruptions. Further, the amendments extend cash flow support to businesses through the early stages of the recovery from the economic conditions caused by COVID-19.
It will be interesting to see if this timeframe is further extended at some later point. Note that, come 1 January 2021, if there is no further extension, the $150,000 threshold for the instant asset write-off for depreciating assets will collapse to $1,000 and the turnover threshold for eligibility for the outright deduction of less than $500 million will fall to a turnover of less than $10 million.
Tips for saving money post Covid-19.
If there is a silver lining to coronavirus it’s that we’ve all learnt to live smarter. And by “live smarter” we mean more frugally. Warren Buffet, worth $80 billion, still drives his Cadillac DTS (worth about $45 000), proving that disposable income does not have to be spent. It’s not uncommon to fall into the “earn more, spend more” trap.
Here are some tips for saving money and living post Covid 19.