The BAS agent - November 2011 - edition 20

New system for managing portal access and permissions

From late November 2011, Online Access Manager (OAM), which is used to manage access and permissions in the BAS Agent Portal, Tax Agent Portal and Business Portal (the portals), will be replaced with Access Manager (AM).

AM is a new system that is separate to the portals and will have the same level of security. It offers new functions, such as easier navigation and the ability to copy access and permissions across multiple people rather than doing each one individually. Your current OAM permissions will automatically be copied over.

You will be able to access AM via a link in your portal or from www.ato.gov.au

Once AM is in place, you will be notified through a Key update on the home page of your portal. Help and support information will also be available on www.ato.gov.au/onlineservices

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Processing system upgrade for PAYG and FBT instalments

We plan to upgrade our processing system for pay as you go (PAYG) and fringe benefits tax (FBT) instalments in late December 2011. We expect the impact on agents to be relatively minor. The upgrade is planned to occur over our regular Christmas-New Year closedown.

Over the coming weeks, we will be informing you of how this upgrade will affect:

§  our systems availability

§  our form processing

§  what some taxpayers might see when they receive their instalments notice.

Some early information is available on our System maintenance and issues page and we will be publishing regular updates.

If you are a quarterly or annual reporter and you require an activity statement for a future period, make your request by 18 November 2011 to minimise possible delays, as we will be unable to process these requests between 26 November 2011 and 3 January 2012.

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Don't delay - register for an AUSkey today

In April 2010, we adopted a new online security credential called AUSkey to replace ATO digital certificates. Soon ATO digital certificates will no longer be able to be used to access our online services.

If you have not already registered for an AUSkey, you must do so before your ATO digital certificate expires. Otherwise, your ability to do business with us online and to continue using ATO and other government online services will be affected.

Register for an AUSkey before your ATO digital certificate expires so you can use a faster online process and have the permissions associated with your ATO digital certificate carried over to your new AUSkey.

To register for a new AUSkey:

§  if you have an active ATO digital certificate, refer to www.ato.gov.au/upgradetoauskey

§  if you do not have an active ATO digital certificate, refer to www.abr.gov.au/auskey

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Lodging on time

We encourage you to check your lodgment program to ensure your clients' activity statements are lodged correctly and on time.

Also, remember to keep your client list up-to-date, as it's an important part of your lodgment program.

If you are struggling to manage your lodgment program, or a client cannot lodge by the due date, we encourage you to contact us early so we can provide assistance.

For more information, refer to BAS agents.

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Avoid doubling up on activity statements

Original and revised activity statements need to have different document identification numbers (DIN). Processing more than one activity statement under the same DIN can lead to incorrect refunds and account balances.

You can help minimise account problems for your clients by:

§  lodging revised activity statements through the BAS Agent Portal or

§  obtaining a paper revision form by phoning us on 13 72 86 FKC 1 4 1.

For more information refer to Revising an activity statement.

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Will your client receive their BAS and PAYG instalment notices?

If your client provides us with a new address via their income tax return, this new address does not automatically get updated on our system for PAYG instalment purposes.

Therefore, if a client has recently re-entered the PAYG instalment regime, they might not receive activity statements and instalment notices if their mailing address has changed since they last paid by instalments.

We recommend you check and update, where needed, their PAYG instalment postal address using the BAS Agent Portal client directory.

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Is your client buying, selling, renting or building a property?

We have created a number of new property related products, aimed at helping you and your clients. These products are available on our new property page at www.ato.gov.au/property

The new site covers tax implications of property transactions and includes information on goods and services tax (GST), capital gains tax and income tax.

We have also developed a Property contract and tax invoice - GST checklist to assist property professionals to correctly account for GST when preparing contracts and the issuing of tax invoices relating to the sale or disposal.

For capital gains or income tax queries, refer your client to a registered tax agent.

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New lodgment deferral form

We have updated our lodgment deferral form and ask that you do not use previous versions as this may delay the processing of your deferral request.

The new Request for additional time to lodge form is available on our website - see Completing and submitting deferral requests.

If you need help in completing the form, refer to Tax agents or BAS agents - what you need to know.

You are only able to request deferrals for:

§  clients who are registered on your client list

§  activity statements and other forms that report obligations arising under BAS provisions.

We encourage you to send lodgment deferral requests to us via the BAS Agent Portal.

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What's new?

We have selected some of the new and updated documents recently published to our website, which may be of interest to you as BAS agents.

Keydates for registered agents - November
Keydates for registered agents - December
Key lodgment and payment dates for November and December.

System maintenance and issues
This page contains scheduled downtime and details of issues currently affecting our online services.

New requirement to tell us when your contact details change
Broadcast sent 20 October 2011 advising registered tax agents and BAS agents of a new requirement to inform us when contact details are changed.

Tax help for small business affected by job cuts at BlueScope Steel
We invite small business operators who have been affected by job cuts at BlueScope Steel to have a free one-to-one assistance visit at a time and place convenient to them. Bookings are essential.

Standard Business Reporting
Standard Business Reporting (SBR) offers a quicker and easier way for businesses to complete their government reporting requirements, freeing up valuable time for other business activities.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) rates
The CPI rates have been updated to include the September 2011 quarter figure.

The TAXAGENT magazine - issue 53 - October 2011
The October 2011 edition of the TAXAGENT includes articles on renewing your BAS agent registration, reforms to car FBT rules, changes to fuel tax credits and how we are improving our detection of GST avoidance on property sales.

Non-Profit News Service No. 0344 - Treasury releases new newsletter on NFP reforms
The first issue of Treasury's not-for-profit reform newsletter has been released.

Tax crime investigations and results
Find out about tax crime, how we are dealing with it and how you can help.

SME Communicator - October 2011
SME Communicator provides relevant information specific to businesses with an annual turnover between $2 million and $250 million.

Workforce education news - Issue 7/2011
This seventh issue of Workforce education news for 2011 covers topics affecting employers, employees, professional associations and their members. Topics include superannuation and tax time information.

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