There are lots of things to diarise in the month of December. For a start, you should make a note to get onto that Christmas shopping – today! – if you haven’t already. Then, there’s the date when school holidays begin; by that stage you should definitely have your Tree up, and then start counting down the traditional Twelve Days to the big one on the 25th. From there we look forward to yummy leftovers, more public holidays and then a whole new year. 2023 promises to be a better one than we’ve had in a while…
This month in Ballarat the Christmas Tree will be erected in Sturt St in early December, and the Giant Bauble and Crystal Star will be installed too, so the town centre will be looking festive for sure. In Torquay in December there’s The Great Ocean Road Beach Volleyfest, which is actually a big event, so get down there if you’re a fan of this sport for the super-fit. Thousands of holiday makers will descend upon Torquay and the Surf Coast, so locals, get prepared. In both Ballarat and Torquay, we’re expecting to see lots of work end of year celebrations and people just might be partying like it’s 2019; more on that below. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us, to you and yours!
DIRECTOR IDs
November 30 should have been marked in red in your diary, if you have not as yet attended to the matter of your Director ID. It should have been by done by November 30 – that was the official cut-off date. If you still haven’t sorted it out, you don’t need to panic yet, but get straight onto it. If you don’t, you will eventually find yourself in hot water. A quick reminder:
- if you are a director of a company, registered Australian body, registered foreign company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation, you need a Director Identification number
- Q: who exactly needs a Director ID? A: EVERYONE who is a company director!
- Q: how long does it last for? A: you keep it forever, even if/when you become a director of additional/different companies or corporations
- you have to do this yourself; no-one else can sort this one out on your behalf. It’s easy to do (on MyGov), but if you need help, contact us TODAY and we’ll steer you in the right direction. When it’s done, you can easily manage the details later on when required
- DON’T PUT THIS OFF ANY LONGER: GET YOUR DIRECTOR ID DONE NOW
BUDGET BRIEF
The main takeaway of the recent budget from the new Federal Government, from an accounting point of view, is that taxpayers who use tax practitioners (such as our lovely accountants at CGH Accounting Services) will actually get additional protection, and firms like ours will receive additional guidance from the government in terms of policy and advice, in order to better assist our clients. So that is all good news, we say, in an otherwise rather gloomy set of announcements.
SELF MANAGED SUPER FUNDS
It’s extremely important to get all the details correct when reporting on your self managed super fund’s performance. The ATO keeps a very close eye on this and comes down like a tonne of bricks on anyone who’s not doing the right thing. SMSFs need to be audited annually. Everything must be outlined accurately. This requirement has been there from the start in order to protect the integrity of the system, particularly with regards to people’s savings for their retirement, which is the main aim of the scheme. Looking after your SMSF is one of the important services our accountants perform at CGH. Talk to us today about making the most of your nest egg.
HACKED? HELP IS AVAILABLE
What a major issue this has been in recent months. Many attacks seem to come out of Russia, which is not content with invading its neighbours but criminals there want to invade your privacy too. We have an organisation called the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and they are here to help, if you are unlucky enough to be the victim of hackers. The ACSC has tools which are easy to use and assist people in preventing hackers and in responding as best as possible if it happens. The ACSC is endeavouring to protect all Australians in as many ways as possible from this dastardly crime. You should report any suspicious activity or cybercrimes to Report Cyber at cyber.gov.au/acsc/report or by calling 1300CYBER.
DO YOU OWE THE ATO?
Many people and businesses have tax debts. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s something to manage wisely and eventually reconcile. You need to have a payment plan that is demonstrable to the ATO. Your local accountants in Ballarat and Torquay can help you with this. If the tax office can see that you have a proper strategy for paying down the debt, they are unlikely to give you too much trouble. If it’s a large debt, you may expect that credit rating agencies will be notified, but this is not the end of the world and can be turned around at a later stage (we can also help you with that).
CHRISTMAS PARTY ADVICE
People are going to make up for lost time at work Christmas parties in 2022. If you are an employer, we have a few tips for you:
- Christmas party costs where the spend is less than $300 per head are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax.
- the easiest thing to do is hold the event at your office and only invite employees, then all catering is FBT free
- if you want to have partners etc. (known as ‘associates’ in this context) then as long as the cost per head is less than $300, there’s no FBT.
- gifts for staff under $300 each are ok too
- you can’t claim the Christmas party as a tax deduction
