NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2013

The Australian Taxation Office is an agency within the Treasury portfolio, and with the change in federal government comes a change in Treasury ministers. The new Treasurer is Hon Joe Hockey MP, who has overall responsibility for Treasury policy, and the new Assistant Treasurer with primary responsibility for the ATO is Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO.
www.treasury.gov.au/About-Treasury/OurMinisters

Keeping a log book

When you use a car for work or business purposes, you may be required to keep a log book. If you intend to use a log book for claiming your car expenses the ATO has rules about how to record your vehicle usage.

Log books must also be kept for at least 12 continuous weeks within a financial year, ie ending no later than 30 June in that year. The opening and closing odometer readings must be recorded at the start and end of the 12 week period. Log books are valid for 5 years or until your pattern of usage changes, whichever is sooner.

Finally, if you are using a log book you will need to know the date of purchase and cost to purchase of the car (to calculate depreciation), interest on any loan over the vehicle, fuel costs, repairs, registration, insurance and any other costs pertaining to the car as all these expenses will be claimable using the percentage of business use calculated from the log book.

More information: Claiming Home Office & MV Expenses (pdf)

The ATO has developed a new app for smartphones called "ATO Tax 2013". Available through Google Play, Apple App Store and Windows Phone Store, you can use it to view income tax rates for the current year, calculate how much tax you pay on wages and check the progress of your tax return after it has been lodged.
More information

Upcoming Due Dates

• October 28 : Sep 2013 quarterly BAS due for lodging and paying (only if lodging via paper form).
• October 28 : Sep 2013 quarterly compulsory superannuation contributions due to employees' funds.
• October 31 : Final date to appoint a tax agent to prepare your 2012-13 income tax return.
• November 21 : Oct 2013 monthly BAS due for lodging and paying (only for those on monthly reporting cycles).
• November 25 : Sep 2013 quarterly BAS due for lodging and paying (for those lodging electronically or via a Tax/BAS Agent).

What is QLeave?

In a nutshell: QLeave is portable paid long service leave for eligible workers in the building and construction industry and the contract cleaning industry.

As an eligible worker registered with QLeave, you accrue the long service leave entitlement even when you work on different projects for one or more employers. The amount of leave you accrue depends on your time spent in the industry rather than time spent with any individual employer. It operates on a credit system: you receive 1 credit for every day you work, up to a maximum of 220 credits per year. Once you accrue ten years' worth of credits (2,200 credits) you then have 8.67 weeks of long service leave paid by QLeave, which you can take all at once or in parts (must be longer than 5 days in duration). Credits can also keep accruing past 2,200 if you work longer than 10 years, and if you have at least 1,155 credits and leave the industry permanently you may also make a claim.

Eligible workers include labourers, tradespeople, assistants, apprentices, trainees, cleaners of commercial and domestic properties (not including gardens, vehicles or pools), subcontractors (including sole traders) and supervisors. You can be employed on a part-time, full-time or casual basis. Some company directors performing construction and building work may also be eligible to join QLeave.

If you are an employer in the building and construction industry or the contract cleaning industry, you must register with QLeave and advise them when your employees start and finish working with you. At the end of each financial year, QLeave will send you a list of your registered workers that you must check and return to QLeave, marking any changes or extra details of employment periods if necessary. Your QLeave-registered workers will then be provided with a Long Service Leave Statement listing their periods of employment and leave entitlement.

There is no cost to workers or employers to be registered with QLeave, it is funded by a levy payable on building and construction projects in Queensland that cost $80,000 (including GST) or more.
Apply for QLeave membership as a worker
More information on QLeave for employers

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our newsletter please email us at newsletter@adaptive.net.au

Until our next contact
Good Health & Good Luck