TaxBanter 2019 Special Topics.

January: Tax advice — managing a risky business

• When the advice turns out to be wrong
• How to get some certainty
• When certainty is not achievable — try risk mitigation
• The safe harbours

Feb: Superannuation guarantee — looking back and moving forward

• When and how the obligation to make SG contributions falls on employers
• Making use of the SG amnesty
• Reporting obligations
• Consequences of non-compliance — the ATO’s increased enforcement powers

March: Tax and the three Rs — repairs, renovations and replacements

• The statutory deduction for repairs
• When repairs are capital: the perennial income/capital conundrum
• Apportioning expenditure on repairs

April: Trustee reporting obligations — casting a wider net

• The reporting and withholding obligations
  on trustees making distributions
• Whether family trust elections provide
  compliance savings
• Reporting the correct information in the Trust’s tax return

May: Taking stock of the changes from 1 July 2019

• Working out what needs to be done before
  30 June 2019 to benefit from proposed
  legislative changes
• Getting ready for the changes due to
  commence on or after 1 July 2019

June: Small business CGT concessions — selling shares and units

• The additional basic conditions that must be satisfied when the asset is a share or a unit
• The legislative changes imposing further basic conditions
• The new modified active asset test for sales of shares and units
• The additional conditions when a replacement asset is a share or a unit

July: Taxing cars

• The tax treatment of different types of vehicles under the Tax Law
• The methods available for claiming car expenses
• Substantiating deductions claimed
• FBT implications if a car is used for private
  purposes

August: Property development: GST

• Identifying when a property development constitutes an enterprise
• The GST implications for the enterprise
• When a change of intention in relation to a property  development has GST consequences
• The new GST withholding rules and property development

September: Property development: Income tax

• Distinguishing between property held as trading stock, a capital asset or a revenue asset
• Implications of changing intention in relation to a property
• Dealing with property development costs for tax purposes

October: Mystery Topic for 2019 is…

Employer or contractor: An identity crisis

• The principles for distinguishing between an employee and a contractor
• Why the distinction matters
  Dispelling some myths
• The risks for employers of getting it wrong

November: Company directors: Tax responsibilities

• An overview of the general law duties imposed on directors
• The responsibilities imposed by the Tax Law on directors personally
• Understanding the limited defences available to directors regarding their tax exposure
• Tax treatment of directors of companies engaging in phoenix activity

December: PAYG Revisited

• When the Tax Law requires a withholding from a payment
• When and how a rate of withholding can be varied and penalties for getting it wrong
• When a taxpayer must pay income tax by instalments
• When and how instalments can be varied
• Penalties for shortfalls on assessment