Non-compliant payments to workers no longer tax deductible

Businesses can no longer claim deductions for payments to workers if they have not met their pay as you go (PAYG) withholding obligations. This applies to income tax returns lodged for the 2020 income year onwards. Any payments made to a worker where PAYG amounts haven’t been withheld or reported are called non-compliant payments.

If PAYG withholding rules require an amount to be withheld, businesses will need to:

• Withhold the amount from the payment before they pay their worker.
• Report that amount to the ATO.

Businesses will not lose their deduction if they:

• Withhold an incorrect amount by mistake. To minimise penalties businesses can correct the mistake by lodging a voluntary disclosure form.
• Withhold the correct amount but make a mistake when reporting, though mistakes should be corrected as soon as possible.
• Fail to report payments on a Taxable payments annual report (TPAR) or a payment summary annual report (PSAR).

Businesses will only lose their deduction if no amount is withheld or reported to the ATO unless voluntarily disclosed before the ATO examine their affairs. Businesses that don’t comply with PAYG withholding and reporting obligations may lose the deduction for that payment and face penalties that apply for failure to withhold and report amounts under the PAYG withholding system.

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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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