Australia

Extension of Taxable Payments Reporting System to couriers and cleaners

From 1 July 2018, the taxable payments reporting system (TPRS) will be extended to contractors in the courier and cleaning industries.

The TPRS is a transparency measure which aims to improve contractor compliance, and currently applies to the building and construction industry.

Businesses in the courier and cleaning industries will need to ensure that they collect contractor payment information from 1 July 2018, with the first annual report to the ATO required in August 2019.

 

Changes to 457 visa arrangements

The Government will abolish the Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) visa and replace it with a new Temporary Skill Shortage visa (2 year or 4 year visas).

From March 2018, businesses that employ foreign workers on certain skilled visas will be required to pay an annual levy that will provide revenue for a new Skilling Australians Fund.

The levy will be $1,800 per Temporary Skill Shortage visa per year, reduced to $1,200 for small businesses with turnover of less than $10m.  There is also a once off levy of $5,000 ($3,000 for small businesses) per employee for permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa or a permanent Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) visa.

The levy will replace the current training benchmark financial obligations for subclass 457 and 186 visas.

 

Major bank levy to be introduced

From 1 July 2017 a major bank levy will be introduced for authorised deposit taking institutions (ADIs) with licensed liabilities of at least $100b. This levy will be calculated quarterly as 0.015% of an ADI’s licensed entity liabilities equating to 0.06% annually. Liabilities subject to the levy include corporate bonds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and Tier 2 capital instruments. The levy will not apply to the deposits of individuals and mortgages.

The levy is budgeted to collect $6.2b over the forward estimates.

 

Multinational Anti Avoidance Law broadened 

The government will extend the scope of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL) so that it applies to corporate structures that involve:

  • the interposition of partnerships that have foreign resident partners
  • trusts that have any foreign resident trustees; and
  • foreign trusts that temporarily have their central management and control in Australia.

The changes will apply from 1 January 2016 (the original commencement date of these laws) and are targeted at arrangements that have emerged since the laws were enacted.

Together with the Diverted Profits Tax measure, the Government is expecting to raise $4bn in tax revenue in the 2018 financial year and there are already rigorous ATO investigations occurring.  Large multinational businesses need to identify if these laws may impact on their business transactions and structure, and take action to mitigate any exposure.

 

GST on new residential premises and subdivisions

There are changes to the GST treatment of sales of new residental property and subdivisions. Please refer to the property section of the budget update.

 

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