Made a mistake on your BAS? Here’s what you need to know

Lodging a business activity statement (BAS) is something all business owners will be familiar with, however, mistakes can still be made. You must ensure that you have reported carefully and correctly to avoid incurring a penalty. In the event an error has been made in the reporting of your activity statements, here is what you will need to know to rectify the misreporting.

If you have made a mistake or left something out on a previous activity statement, in most cases you are able to correct the errors on your next statement or lodge a revised statement.

An error or mistake relates to an amount that was incorrect at the time of lodgement and can be fixed by revising the original BAS or making the relevant changes on your next BAS. Examples of a mistake include:

• Clerical or transposition errors.
• Reporting a taxable sale/purchase as GST free, or reporting a GST free sale/purchase as taxable.

An adjustment relates to a report that was correct at the time of lodgement but a situation has since occurred that changes the amount of reported GST. Examples of when to make an adjustment are:

• If the price of a purchase changes.
• If the goods are returned and the sale has been cancelled.

To avoid penalties, all mistakes must be corrected within four years. You can do this through myGov, on the Business Portal of the ATO, from your business software if it is enabled for Standard Business Reporting (SBR), or by contacting the ATO.

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Becoming socially conscious of where you super invest

February 28, 2020

Whether you are a newcomer to the workforce or have been working full time for 30 years, you must have come across the concept of superannuation. Chances are, you’ve already been steadily building your retirement funds in one of the 500 Australian superannuation funds but are still unfamiliar with how exactly your super is being managed and where your super fund is investing your money in.

With the beginning of a new decade and social issues on the rise, it is time to take a more conscious stance on what you are doing with your super and what causes you are supporting through the employment of your money through your super fund.

A recent investigation into Australian super funds by the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), released in February 2020, found that 50 of the largest super funds in Australia are proxy voting against local climate-change initiatives. These organisations are instead approaching climate change from a global perspective, whilst ignoring more pressing domestic challenges to reduce carbon emissions..

The lack of support from Australian super funds for localised climate action is growing problematic, as Australia fails to address its appalling record on carbon emissions and is falling behind new-age global goals to fight against environmental degradation and climate change.

In contrast, some of Australia’s most environmentally and socially conscious super funds lack the reputation to attract long-term users. To look for more environmentally friendly Australian super funds, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) grades supers based on their ethical contributions and makes this information available to the public.

Instead of mindlessly joining Australian super funds that are neglecting growingly problematic domestic climate change issues, Australians need to become more conscious of our indirect actions and super investments. Rather than investing in an unethical super fund, looking into self-managed super funds may be another good option. We need to learn to take matters into our own hands and become more socially conscious of where exactly our money goes.

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