Taxation & Compliance

GST & BAS COMPLIANCE

Whether you report your Business Activity Statement monthly, quarterly or annually, ABS can help manage and streamline this process to ensure you meet your compliance obligations on time.

We will also ensure you obtain the correct refund where due, and advise you on some areas of expenditure and capital investment to maximise the cashflow aspects of your GST cycle.

Regardless of how you operate – as a sole trader, company, partnership or trust, we will ensure you meet your annual reporting requirements with sound record keeping and properly completed tax returns. This may include accompanying information such as PSI and carry forward Losses Schedules.

Where you have made tax-free distributions from a private company, we can provide guidance on loan accounts and applications of Division 7A to ensure you correctly report assessable income in the substantive form of dividends to shareholders or an associate.

FBT & OTHER TAXATION

Fringe Benefits Tax may apply to your trading situation, and ABS will be able to guide you in this exercise to determine whether this applies, and report the appropriate calculations, together with any other applicable tax payable.

PERSONAL TAX RETURNS

Submit your tax return without fuss or delay with ABS.

Whether its the current year, or multiple years including overdue returns, ABS are a convenient, reliable and affordable solution to your personal tax needs. Fast lodgement time, fully-explained to you, and compliant with the most up-to-date tax legislation.

We take a pragmatic and sensible approach to considering individual circumstances.

PERSONAL SERVICES INCOME (PSI)

Contractors and consultants carrying on business and who earn income from personal services – commonly referred to as PSI – attract special rules which may may affect which amounts they include in their assessable income, and may also limit claimable deductions.

These limits can apply to such things as rent, mortgage interest, rates or land tax on your residence, spouse-related car expenses as well as wages or super payments paid to associates.

SELF MANAGED SUPER FUNDS (SMSF's)

If you’ve got an existing SMSF or you’re looking to establish one, let ABS help you with the compliance regime.

We have specialists to perform the regular and annual reporting – including annual audit process – and submit the Trust or Trustee Company tax return.

GST, BAS, PAYG

Stay up to date.

Regular reporting to the tax office is actually a good business discipline.

ABS will ensure that your business reports regularly, on time, and can testify to its accounts.

Submitting your business activity statements is an important part of the monthly process to reconcile your cash position, understand your cash flows, reflect on performance and plan your future investment strategies.

The better you invest some time in this area, the more you will be at ease with the knowledge that there are no ugly problems that have slipped by on the wayside.

Staying on top of tax and compliance is sound business sense. Keep you business solid by putting a little bit of effort each week into this part.

Reporting types

There are different methods for accounting on your results, from a BAS perspective.

The simple method is a cash basis.

A more advanced approach is an accruals based method. But this doesn’t suit all situations, it incurs more costs and is more suited to medium-large businesses who have the advantage of experienced finance departments.

Most small businesses will use a cash basis, to minimise and simplify their reporting requirements. This might be monthly, or quarterly.

ABS will simplify the approach, to reduce your costs.

ANNUAL REPORTING

Successful businesses which have longevity are normally those which take their accounting & planning seriously.

All too often, owners make the mistake of masking their success. It is better to be transparent with your performance and use methods to maximise your tax position rather than hide or disguise things.

Obtain quality advice about finance options, regulatory issues and employment or investing issues. These might seem like big costs initially, but on reflection could be life-changing and something that you say “that was a great decision”.

For small and medium sized enterprises, not publicly traded, there is likely to become a point of transition where a business sale opportunity or an amalgamation into a bigger picture comes onto the cards.

At this horizon point, proven and substantiated profitability over a consistent period becomes important. It is tangible evidence of your success story.

A clever way is to take an all-inclusive approach, and design your thinking around creating a good business, whilst proving its worth. If you ever come time to sell, it will be decided on a multiple basis (maybe two to three times earnings, or more). At this time-point, you will cherish the day when you stuck to basics.

There is a big difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Adopt and engage the advice of professionals who can help to minimise your business tax. Increasingly now, your customers are more fully informed, accept and respect the obligation of business to pay their part of the bill.

You will be rewarded down the track for the multiple of earnings on goodwill, should you decide to sell.