$325 energy relief for small business
Date: 1 July 2024
Around one million small businesses will receive $325 off their energy bills over 2024–25. The support will apply as an automatic quarterly credit to energy bills.
Energy relief will also be provided to households in the form of a $300 rebate.
Costing $3.5bn over three years from 2023-24, the measure extends and expands the Energy Bill Relief Fund.
$20k Small business instant asset write-off extended
Date: 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025
Small businesses, with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million, will be able to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible depreciating assets costing less than $20,000 that are first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025. This measure extends the 2023-24 Budget announcement to the 2024-25 financial year.
“Immediately deductible” means a tax deduction for the asset can be claimed in the same income year that the asset was purchased and used (or installed ready for use).
If the business is registered for GST, the cost of the asset needs to be less than $20,000 after subtracting the GST credits that can be claimed for the asset. If the business is not registered for GST, it is less than $20,000 including GST.
The write-off applies per asset, so a small business can deduct the cost of multiple assets.
The rules only apply to assets that fall within the scope of the depreciation provisions. Expenditure on capital improvements to buildings that falls within the scope of the capital works rules is not expected to qualify.
Assets valued at $20,000 or more (which cannot be immediately deducted) can continue to
be placed into the small business simplified depreciation pool and depreciated at
15% in the first income year and 30% each income year thereafter if the asset has been acquired by a small business entity that chooses to apply the simplified depreciation rules.
The provisions that prevent small businesses from re-entering the simplified depreciation regime for 5 years if they opt-out will continue to be suspended until 30 June 2025.
The increased small business instant asset write-off announced in the 2023-24 Federal Budget is not yet law, see Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and Other Measures) Bill 2023). Senate amendments proposed increasing the threshold from $20,000 to $30,000 and expanding the measure to apply to medium entities.
ATO counter fraud strategy
Date: First income year after Royal Assent of enabling legislation
The Government announced that it will provide $187 million over four years from 1 July 2024 to the ATO to strengthen its ability to detect, prevent and mitigate fraud against the tax and superannuation systems.
Funding includes:
- $78.7 million for upgrades to information and communications technologies to enable the ATO to identify and block suspicious activity in real time.
- $83.5 million for a new compliance taskforce to recover lost revenue and intervene when attempts to obtain fraudulent refunds are made.
- $24.8 million to improve the ATO’s management and governance of its counter-fraud activities, including improving how the ATO assists individuals harmed by fraud.
- $0.4 million over four years from 1 July 2024 to the Department of Finance to undertake a Gateway Review process over the life of the proposal to ensure independent assurance, oversight and delivery of the measure.
The Government will also strengthen the ATO’s ability to combat fraud by extending the time the ATO has to notify a taxpayer if it intends to retain a business activity statement (BAS) refund for further investigation. The ATO’s mandatory notification period for BAS refund retention will be increased from 14 days to 30 days to align with time limits for non-BAS refunds.
The extended period will strengthen the ATO’s ability to combat fraud during peak fraud events like the one that triggered Operation Protego. Legitimate refunds will be largely unaffected. Any legitimate refunds retained for over 14 days would result in the ATO paying interest to the taxpayer - as is currently the case. The ATO will publish BAS processing times online.
This measure is estimated to increase receipts by $302.2 million and increase payments by $187.4 million over the five years from 2023–24.
