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Tax reform implementation for small business and startups

The Federal Government is announcing further implementation details for its tax reform package, following an intensive first round of post-Budget consultation.

The details provide more clarity and confidence to investors, more support for small businesses and more incentives for innovation. 

Further CGT concessions have been announced for small businesses and startups, and retaining the original intent of policies.

This means all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98% of all active businesses will be eligible for generous CGT concessions.

Having completed a substantial amount of the consultation already flagged in the Budget papers, the government is now releasing a consultation paper on startups while also providing further implementation details around Australia's tax reforms, including: 

• Announcing an increase to the turnover threshold for the existing small business 50% active asset CGT reduction from $2 million to $10 million. This will mean all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98% of all active businesses will be eligible for this concession.
• Releasing a consultation paper on the design of a new Innovative Business CGT Concession that would provide a 50% CGT discount to early-stage investors including founders and employee share scheme participants of innovative start-up businesses.
• Confirming that income from all types of testamentary trusts will be exempt from the minimum tax, including future discretionary testamentary trusts, with implementation details included in further consultation.
• Confirming amendments will be made to the legislation in the Senate rather than in legislative instruments, to provide certainty on as much of the implementation details of the Government’s tax reforms as possible.

Small businesses concessions

As outlined in the Budget, the Government will retain the existing four small business CGT concessions which allow small businesses to reduce, defer or completely eliminate their capital gains tax liability when they sell active business assets. 

The Government will introduce amendments to the legislation currently before the Senate to give effect to this change.

Consultation on arrangements for innovative start-ups

The Government will release a consultation paper on the design of a 50% CGT discount for early-stage investors including founders and employee share scheme participants of innovative start-up businesses. 

The Innovative Business CGT Concession will provide individuals, partnerships and trusts holding eligible shares a choice between a 50% discount or indexation and the minimum tax for gains accrued from 1 July 2027.

Subject to further consultation, eligible shares must be new equity issued by a company that is under 10 years old (or under 15 years in certain circumstances), under $50 million in turnover and meets principles-based innovation criteria, and must be held for five years before being sold, with a lifetime cap on the concession.

This will ensure that early investors in innovative start-ups that start with a low or zero cost base still receive a significant discount on a future capital gain, supporting the continued growth of Australia’s start-up and venture capital ecosystem.

The Government will consider expanding eligibility to 15 years for start-ups in sectors such as biotech and medtech that can take longer to commercialise.

Consultation is open until 10 July and will inform the final design, to be implemented in a later tranche of tax reform legislation. The paper is available on the Treasury website »

These measures build on the existing significant measures to support business risk taking and investment in the Budget, including two-year loss carry back, loss refundability for start-ups, expanded venture capital incentives, and making the $20,000 instant asset write off permanent.

The additional support for small business has an indicative cost of $300 million over the forward estimates and brings the total new tax measures to support businesses in the tax reform package to over $3.8 billion. The proposed arrangements for start-ups have an indicative cost of $125 million over the forward estimates. Financial impacts will be finalised in the next Budget update in the usual way, following consultation.

Amendments to the legislation

The Government will make targeted amendments to the legislation currently before the Parliament, removing ministerial powers to provide certainty on as much of the implementation details as possible. 

The Government intends to move the following amendments in the next sitting fortnight, subject to parliamentary negotiations:

• Extend the eligibility of the 50% active asset reduction to more businesses by increasing the turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million.
• Ensure deductible gift and donations reduce capital gains that are subject to the minimum tax, to maintain tax incentives in relation to charitable giving. 
• Provide the list of income support payments that qualify for an exemption from the minimum tax on capital gains. 
• Embed the calculation method for the Working Australians Tax Offset in legislation. 
• Remove ministerial powers no longer needed to give effect to the Government’s policy intent.

The Government also intends to remove ministerial discretion in relation to the following aspects of the Bill, with legislation to be introduced later this year following consultation:  

• Definition of new builds that are eligible to choose a 50% discount on gains accrued from 1 July 2027, and eligible to access negative gearing for properties purchased after 12 May 2026, consistent with the details outlined in the Budget. 
• Definition of the types of housing investment exempt from the limits on negative gearing, including affordable housing.

The definition of new builds and housing investment exemptions will be moved into primary legislation in a future tranche of tax reform legislation. Final details, including treatment of certain types of accommodation and housing investment, will be subject to consultation. 

These details reflect the targeted consultations and engagements undertaken since the release of the Budget, consistent with the Government’s commitment to engage with stakeholders on implementation.

Trusts reform and other elements of the tax reform package

The Government will continue to develop further tranches of legislation to implement the Budget tax reform package, consistent with the process for legislating other large tax reform packages in the past.

This will include the release of a consultation paper on implementation of the minimum tax on discretionary trusts in the coming weeks which will provide further details on the proposed implementation approach.

In response to targeted consultation following the Budget, the Government will exempt income from all types of discretionary testamentary trusts from the minimum tax provided they are established for genuine testamentary purposes.

The exclusion will be limited to income from assets of the deceased estate. For discretionary testamentary trusts established on or after 1 July 2028, the exclusion will only apply to trusts that can only benefit individuals and income tax exempt entities.  

There is no tax on inheritances or deceased estates but the government is taking this step to put this beyond doubt.

This exemption has an indicative cost of $50 million over the forward estimates. Financial impacts will be finalised in the next Budget update in the usual way, following consultation.

In addition, the Government will introduce legislation to give effect to reforms that make loss carry back and the instant asset write off for small business permanent.

Source: Australian Government. (18 June 2026) Tax reform implementation for small business and startups. Prime Minister of Australia (pm.gov.au)

Help for people directly affected by a natural disaster in Queensland, such as floods.

Support announced for people affected by the rainfall and flooding in North Queensland

Services Australia provides Australian Government assistance such as Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and Disaster Recovery Allowance when there’s a declared natural disaster event.

Financial help is available for people affected by the North Queensland rainfall and flooding from 2pm local time 13 January 2026. 

The state government provides assistance which may include grants and loans. You may be eligible for both Australian Government and state government natural disaster support.

Australian Government support

To find what Australian Government support is available, select the event affecting you.

Support for North QLD Rainfall and Flooding, December 2025-January 2026 announced »

Financial support will be available from 2 pm local time on 13 January 2026 for people affected by the rainfall and flooding in North QLD that started in December 2025.

Queensland Government support

The Queensland Government provides support for people affected by a natural disaster. This may include:

• individual and business grants
• loans for small businesses and non-profit organisations
• help from a Community Recovery Officer.

Check what emergencies and natural disaster assistance you can get on the Queensland Government website.

The Australian Government and state and territory governments work together to provide support if you’re affected by an eligible natural disaster event. Read more about how government disaster support works.

Other support

If you’ve been affected by a disaster, there may be other payments or support services to help you. Read about other support and additional help for natural disasters.

Source: Services Australia

Hardship assistance available to flooded North Queensland residents, small business disaster loans activated

• Flood affected Queenslanders can now access Personal Hardship Assistance for their disaster recovery
• Support available includes emergency payments to purchase food, clothing and medicine and also targeted grants for vulnerable residents
• Disaster assistance loans have also been activated for impacted small businesses in designated north and north-west local government areas, including low interest loans up to $250,000 to support recovery efforts and up to $100,000 to help sustain operations.

The Federal and Queensland State Governments have made Personal Hardship Assistance payments available to flood-hit residents battling the prolonged monsoon trough over north-west Queensland.

This includes payments of $180 for individuals and up to $900 for a family of five or more for emergency essentials like food, clothing and medicine, and other assistance targeting low income, uninsured residents.

LGAs include Burke, Carpentaria, Cassowary Coast, Cloncurry, Croydon, Flinders, McKinlay, Mount Isa, Palm Island, Richmond, Townsville, Winton and Yarrabah.

Additionally, eligible primary producers in Winton Shire can now access disaster loans up to $250,000 and freight subsidies up to $5,000, while Doomadgee and Etheridge Councils will be supported with their counter disaster operations and essential asset repairs.

All financial support is being funded by the Federal and State Governments under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

• Information on Personal Hardship Assistance, eligibility, and how to apply, can be found at www.disaster.qld.gov.au or by calling the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349
• For disaster loan info and applications, small businesses and primary producers can visit www.qrida.qld.gov.au or phone 1800 623 946. 

Personal Hardship Assistance available to eligible residents:

• Emergency Hardship Assistance – $180 per person, up to $900 for a family of five or more to purchase immediate essentials like food, clothing and medicine
• Essential Services Hardship Assistance – $150 per person, up to $750 for a family of five or more to assist with immediate needs following the loss of essential services at home for more than five consecutive days
• Essential Household Contents Grants – income-tested assistance for uninsured residents, up to $1,765 for individuals and up to $5,300 for couples or families to replace destroyed essential household contents such as bed linen and whitegoods
• Structural Assistance Grants – up to $80,000 for uninsured, income-tested owner-occupiers towards the repair or replacement of a disaster damaged dwelling to return it to a safe and habitable condition
• Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme – income-tested grants to help uninsured residents reconnect damaged services like electricity, gas, water or sewerage. Up to $5,000 per household.

Disaster loans for eligible small businesses and primary producers:

• Disaster Assistance Loans – up to $250,000 to repair or replace damaged assets like plant and equipment, to repair premises or to replace stock and maintain liquidity
• Essential Working Capital Loans – up to $100,000 to allow for the continuation of operations, including paying wages, rents or rates, purchasing fuel, fodder and water, and transporting livestock and produce.

For the full list of activated LGAs and support available please visit Activations on the Queensland Reconstruction Authority website.

Source: Queensland Government

Queensland small and family businesses can now apply for the latest Business Growth Fund grants

Registrations of interest open now and close at 5pm, 30 January 2026.

Small and family businesses can apply for grants of between $50,000 and $75,000 with a co-contribution of at least 50 per cent of the total project cost required.  

• The program is backed by $3.5 million, with eligible small businesses able to apply for up to $75,000 in funding
• The grant supports small and family businesses across all industries to purchase specialised equipment to deliver business growth.

The Business Growth Fund provides direct financial support for small and family businesses to grow, increase productivity and efficiency, increase market share or develop and expand export opportunities. 

Funding can be used to purchase: 

• Production equipment to meet otherwise unachievable growth demand
• Advanced manufacturing or digital equipment and systems
• Advanced logistics systems and equipment. 

Minister for Small and Family Business Steve Minnikin said small and family businesses were critical to our communities, creating jobs and supporting local communities.  

The full program eligibility guidelines and conditions are available at business.qld.gov.au/growthfund where registration of interest can also be submitted by 30 January 2026. 

Small and family businesses generate $131 billion for the Queensland economy and employ more than 1 million Queenslanders. 

Source: https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/104040

Fair Work Commission delivers real wage boost for low-paid workers

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has announced a 3.5% increase to Australia’s National Minimum Wage, lifting the hourly rate to $24.94, or $948 per week for a full-time employee. The new rates will come into effect from 1 July 2025.

The increase surpasses the current inflation rate of 2.4%, resulting in a real wage boost for the nation’s lowest-paid workers. Minimum rates under modern awards will also rise by 3.5%, directly impacting the pay of approximately 2.6 million employees across Australia.

Employers must prepare for the new rates to apply from the start of the new financial year, alongside the planned increase to the superannuation guarantee from 11.5% to 12%.

FWC President Justice Adam Hatcher confirmed that the rise aims to address the ongoing squeeze on household budgets caused by inflationary pressures. Since July 2021, many minimum-wage and award-reliant workers have seen a reduction in the real value of their wages.

Is your business ready for the change?

Flor-Hanly’s experienced team in Mackay can help you assess the impact of wage changes and manage payroll compliance in the new financial year.

Call us on 07 4963 4800 to ensure your business is ready for 1 July.

• Related reading: Annual Wage Review 2025 decision »

SMSF Trustees ensure you make your minimum payment from your pension account by 30 June.

A self-managed super fund (SMSF) must pay a minimum amount each year to a member who is receiving a pension that commenced on or after 20 September 2007. These are mainly account-based pensions (also known as a super income stream).

If you haven't already, then you'll need to make sure all members receiving an account-based pension are paid their minimum pension amount by 30 June.

This is calculated by applying the relevant percentage factor based on the member's age by the member's pension account balance calculated as of 1 July 2024 or on a pro-rata basis if the pension commenced partway through the 2024–25 financial year.

If the minimum payment is not made by 30 June, this could result in adverse taxation consequences for the member.

Need help calculating your member's minimum pension payment? Contact Flor-Hanly in Mackay on 07 4963 4800.

Changes to entry-level classifications in modern awards are now in effect, following updates by the Fair Work Commission. 

The reforms standardise how introductory roles are defined and paid, aligning all minimum rates with or above the National Minimum Wage.

The changes commenced on 1 January 2025 for most awards and from 1 April 2025 for the Horticulture Award and Pastoral Award.

Key updates include:

• Introductory classifications (e.g. C14, ‘Introductory’, or ‘Level 1’) now apply for a limited period only — no longer than six months.
• Employers must reclassify employees to the next level once they complete induction, gain necessary skills or meet qualification requirements, whichever occurs first.
• All non-introductory roles must be paid at or above the National Minimum Wage.
• Employers are required to review and adjust any existing employment classifications by the relevant 2025 deadline.

These changes affect a wide range of awards including the Manufacturing, Pest Control, Fitness and Live Performance Awards, among others.

Employers with enterprise agreements are also required to comply with the new minimum classification rates under the applicable award, even if the agreement permits introductory pay rates.

Updated pay guides, award classifications and compliance tools are available on the Fair Work Ombudsman website to support businesses in meeting their obligations.

For assistance call Flor-Hanly on 07 4963 4800 or to access these tools, visit:  

• www.fairwork.gov.au
• Fair Work Infoline: 13 13 94

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Assistance provided through the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA)

Key information

Federal and State Governments are extending assistance to support 17 more councils as well as primary producers and rural landholders in Charters Towers and Flinders, after flooding across the north and northwest of the state.

• Thirty councils are now activated for DRFA assistance in response to the North and Far North Tropical Low weather event: Barcaldine, Blackall-Tambo, Boulia, Burdekin, Cairns, Carpentaria, Cassowary Coast, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Cook, Croydon, Diamantina, Douglas, Etheridge, Flinders, Hinchinbrook, Hope Vale, Kowanyama, Longreach, McKinlay, Northern Peninsula Area, Palm Island, Pormpuraaw, Richmond, Tablelands, Townsville, Whitsunday, Winton, Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah
• Disaster Recovery Grants up to $25,000, Disaster Assistance Loans up to $250,000 and Essential Working Capital Loans up to $100,000 will allow primary producers to re-establish and maintain operations, while freight subsidies up to $5,000 can be applied for to move stock and supplies
• Eligible rural landholders can apply for grants up to $10,000 for their clean-up efforts and the reinstatement of any primary production conducted on their property 
• Grants, loans and freight subsidies also available to primary producers, and grants to rural landholders in Charters Towers and Flinders LGAs
• Assistance is provided through the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Support activated includes:

• Funding to support emergency repairs and the long-term rebuild of damaged roads in Barcaldine, Blackall-Tambo, Boulia, Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Croydon, Diamantina, Flinders, Hope Vale, Kowanyama, Longreach, McKinlay, Northern Peninsula Area, Pormpuraaw, Richmond, Winton, and Wujal Wujal Councils.
• Recovery grants, concessional loans and freight subsidies for primary producers operating out of the Charters Towers and Flinders LGAs to help with clean-up, equipment repairs, replacement of stock, loss of income, and the continuity of operations. Grants to support eligible rural landholders or lessees of at least 10 hectares in the Charters Towers and Flinders LGAs, who have sustained direct damage from the floods but are not eligible for primary producer assistance.

All support is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments through the Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

For primary producer grants and loans, and rural landholder grants, visit the QRIDA website www.qrida.qld.gov.au or call 1800 623 946.

Applications for freight subsidies can be made via Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries on 13 25 23 or at www.daf.qld.gov.au.

Source: Queensland Government

With mere weeks remaining in FY24, now is a great time to think about your EOFY preparation.

A good place to start? Preparing your payroll to make finalisation as easy as possible come July.

Completing your EOFY is better off on Xero. To help you get you through from start to finish, we’ve included some handy steps to guide you through the process.

1. Check your employees’ records 

As part of Single Touch Payroll (STP), there are key compliance requirements that affect the way employees are set up in Xero. 

In Xero Payroll, all active and terminated employees (who will be included in the STP finalisation for the financial year) will need an employment type, income type and tax scale defined in their records. 

Review your employees’ records to ensure they’re STP compliant. You can run the Employee Contact Details report to check for accuracy, keeping a close eye on things like date of birth, email address and postcode.

2. Review pay items and their settings

Under STP,  the ATO requires the correct reporting categories be used for your earnings, deduction and paid leave pay items. Allowances will also need to be assigned an appropriate reporting type.

Because these categories tell the ATO how to treat each type of payment you’re reporting through STP, it’s important to double-check that the earnings, deduction, paid leave and allowance pay items used in the current financial year are correctly assigned. 

3. Post and file any pay runs for the 2023/2024 financial year

Any pay runs with a payment date in this financial year will need to be posted and filed before you complete your employees’ STP finalisation. If these pay runs are to be reported in FY24, remember that you’ll need to make sure the payment date is on or before 30 June 2024.

Be sure to check that all of your pay runs have been filed to the ATO successfully using STP.

4. Process any outstanding superannuation payments

To claim a deduction on superannuation accruals submitted via auto super for the current financial year, super batches should be approved no later than 2:00pm AEST, 18 June 2024. We recommend marking this date in your calendar so you don’t forget.

If you’re not registered for auto super, it’s not too late. Alternatively, the payments can be made manually outside of Xero.

5. Reconcile your payroll accounts

After processing all pay runs for the financial year, it’s important to forensically check the accuracy of your reporting. One way to do this easily is by generating the Payroll Activity Summary report and comparing it with the General Ledger report. 

You can specify a custom date range in both reports to help find any discrepancies. If you come across any discrepancies in your payroll accounts, you can use the remove and redo feature to edit the transaction and allocate it to the correct accounts.

Troubleshooting tips

• If you have multiple payroll expense accounts for earnings or superannuation, be sure to add up the totals for each account when comparing them to the Payroll Activity Summary report.
• Use the Account Transactions report to identify any transactions that may have been incorrectly reconciled against your Expense Accounts.
• Check for any manual journals that may have impacted your totals by running the Journal report and clicking on Manual Journals.
• If you’re unable to locate a discrepancy, try running your reports using a smaller date range to narrow down the issue.
• If you started using Xero midway through the financial year, double-check that the employee opening balances match your organisation’s conversion balances to avoid any discrepancies.

6. Review the Payroll Activity Summary report against the Payment Summary Details report

It can be easy to get the Payroll Activity Summary report and the Payment Summary Details report confused, so remember you’ll still need to compare this information if you’re completing an STP finalisation. You can run these two reports for a custom date range and make sure the information balances.

It’s important to note that the Payroll Activity Summary report shows gross earnings, whereas the Payment Summary Details report shows taxable earnings.

If there are salary sacrifice or pre-tax deductions that have been processed during the financial year, they will need to be deducted from the gross wages that show in the Payroll Activity Summary report. The total should then match the Payment Summary Details report (note that this will only show truncated values – the cents will not show in this report).

7. Remember to identify and amend any mistakes

Any errors made throughout the financial year can be corrected using an unscheduled pay run. Simply create the pay run for the required period and enter the adjustment amounts. You can even enter negative values, if needed.

You will need to check that the payment date of the unscheduled pay run falls within the correct financial year (for example, on or before 30 June 2024) to ensure it’s reported correctly.

8. Process STP finalisation

Last but not least, it’s time to process your STP finalisation. Xero’s product team has been working to make this process simpler, and easier to understand. Xero users might notice some tweaks this year, such as an improved layout for the STP YTD Summary and clearer totals columns. 

You’ll need to file at least one pay run before you’re able to complete the STP finalisation process. Your first submission will include all year-to-date (YTD) payroll information that has been entered into Xero.

Keep these tips in mind to help you along the way:

• Information included in the STP finalisation will pre-populate based on the information processed in Payroll – you’ll be able to see gross totals, taxes and super. You can also view and easily edit RFBA and RFBA-E (reportable fringe benefit amounts).
• If you need to report any leave paid out on termination as ‘Lump Sum A’ or ‘Lump Sum B,’ you can do this by processing an unscheduled pay run.
• If you have terminated any employees on or before 30 June 2024 who need fringe benefit tax (FBT) amounts reported, you can use the toggle Show terminated employees for RFBA at the bottom of the STP finalisation page.
• Any Employment Termination Payments (ETP) that have been processed can be shown by clicking View Report to see the STP YTD Summary.
• If you started using Xero part way through the financial year and need to report employee opening balances through STP.
• Based on the ATO’s requirements, gross payments are reported as the pre-sacrificed amount. This means salary sacrificed amounts, such as pre-tax deductions and reportable employer super contributions (RESC), are included in gross payments.

Looking ahead to FY25

The Government has made changes to individual income tax and superannuation guarantee rates, as well as thresholds such as STSL indexation (study and training loan indexation). These come into effect from July 1 2024. Pay runs with a payment date of 1 July 2024 or later will have these new rates automatically applied.

The super guarantee (SG) rate is increasing from 11 to 11.5 per cent on 1 July 2024. Any employees with a superannuation line set up with a rate type of statutory rate will be automatically updated. If their rate type has been set up as Percentage of Earnings, you will need to ensure you edit this percentage manually. These changes to income tax rates and thresholds will also be automatically applied in pay runs with a payment date of 1 July 2024.

If your organisation is impacted by changes to the minimum wage, you will need to update your employees’ pay templates. To find out if these changes could affect you, please refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Looking for EOFY payroll help? Call Flor-Hanly’s Xero Certified Advisors on 07 4963 4800 for everything you need to know (and do) to round out FY24, and set up strong for the new financial year ahead.

Source: Xero

2024–25 Labor Federal Budget highlights

Described as a “responsible Budget that helps people under pressure today”, the Treasurer has forecast a second consecutive surplus of $9.3 billion.

The main priorities of the government, as reflected in the Budget, are helping with the cost of living, building more housing, investing in skills and education, strengthening Medicare and responsible economic management to help fight inflation.

The key tax measures announced in the Budget include extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off for eligible businesses by 12 months until 30 June 2025, introducing tax incentives for hydrogen production and critical minerals production, strengthening foreign resident CGT rules and penalising multinationals that seek to avoid paying Australian royalty withholding tax. 

The tax, superannuation and social security highlights are set out here:

READ FULL SUMMARY

BUDGET AT A GLANCE

Income tax

• The instant asset write-off threshold of $20,000 for small businesses applying the simplified depreciation rules extended for 12 months until 30 June 2025
• The foreign resident CGT regime will be strengthened for CGT events commencing on or after 1 July 2025
• A critical minerals production tax incentive will be available from 2027–28 to 2040–41 to support downstream refining and processing of critical minerals
• A hydrogen production tax incentive will be available from 2027–28 to 2040–41 to producers of renewable hydrogen
• The minimum length requirements for content and the above-the-line cap of 20% for total qualifying production expenditure for the producer tax offset will be removed
• A new penalty will be introduced from 1 July 2026 for taxpayers who are part of a group with more than $1 billion in annual global turnover that are found to have mischaracterised or undervalued royalty payments
• The Labor government’s 2022–23 Budget measure to deny deductions for payments relating to intangibles held in low- or no-tax jurisdictions is being discontinued
• The start date of a 2023–24 Budget measure to expand the scope of the Pt IVA general anti-avoidance rule will be deferred to income years commencing on or after assent of enabling legislation
• Deductible gift recipients list to be updated.

Superannuation

• Superannuation will be paid on government-funded paid parental leave (PPL) for parents of babies born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025
• The Fair Entitlements Guarantee Recovery Program will be recalibrated to pursue unpaid super entitlements owed by employers in liquidation or bankruptcy from 1 July 2024.

Tax administration

• The ATO will be given a statutory discretion to not use a taxpayer’s refund to offset old tax debts on hold
• Indexation of the Higher Education Loan Program (and other student loans) debt will be limited to the lower of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, effective from 1 June 2023
• A pilot program of matching income and employment data of migrant workers will be conducted between the Department of Home Affairs and the ATO
• A new ATO compliance taskforce will be established to recover tax revenue lost to fraud while existing compliance programs will be extended
• The ATO will have additional time to notify a taxpayer if it intends to retain a business activity statement refund for further investigation
• The 2019–20 Budget measure “Black Economy — Strengthening the Australian Business Number system” will not proceed.

The Budget also includes various amendments to previously announced measures, as well as a number of income tax measures that have already been enacted prior to the Budget announcement. These enacted measures have not been discussed in detail:

• revised stage 3 personal income tax cuts (enacted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Act 2024 (Act No 3 of 2024))
• Medicare levy and surcharge threshold changes (enacted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living—Medicare Levy) Act 2024 (Act No 4 of 2024)), and
• specific exemption for Australian plantation forestry entities from the new earnings-based rules introduced as part of thin capitalisation reforms (enacted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share—Integrity and Transparency) Act 2024 (Act No 23 of 2024)).

The government anticipates that the tax measures put forward will collectively improve the Budget position by $3.1 billion over a 5-year period to 2027–28.

Full Budget papers are available at budget.gov.au and the Treasury ministers’ media releases are available at ministers.treasury.gov.au.

Source: CCH