Latest News

For individuals No more bonuses for having a baby – other than the non-government ones. Medical expenses tax offset going. Increasing the age pension qualifying age to 67 by 2023 (what on earth does that mean – they are making law about the qualifying age to be in place in 10 years time – who believes that law wont change?)Some of the previously promised tax cuts have now been unpromised (go figure) Medicare rate is going up – which I think means taxes have gone...

Hear from some of the successful Xero Partners about what it’s like to run a bookkeeping business with lots of clients on Xero. To be held at Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Online from the 27th May, 2013 - 4th June, 2013 For more information, visit Xero.

Tax and BAS agents are encouraged to notify the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) as soon as possible if they are changing their practice structure. A change in practice structure could include: changing from an individual to a partnership changing from an individual to a company changes to a partnership changes to company directors. If you are creating a new business structure you need to register the entity. A new registration application can take some time to process depend...

Taxable Payments Reporting - Construction industry - its just not that hard Please note "advice" on the TPAR system and "lodging" the form is NOT currently a BAS Agent service nor a bookkeeper service. A client can do it themselves - our system and templates etc. advises a business about this.Our members who are contractor bookkeepers can: provide the general information - see ICB templates seek client direction - see the procedure they can run the software to produce the forms the cli...

BAS agent webinarsOur next BAS agents update webinar series will be available between the end of May and mid-June 2013.The webinar is one hour long and will be scheduled in Eastern Standard Time.The topics covered will be: GST   - Motor vehicles    - Annual private apportionment   - Correcting GST mistakes PAYG withholding   - Allowances Compliance update Administrative update To avoid oversubscription in the early sessions, we ask that you co...

Don't forget to lodge your own personal tax return Given your role in the tax and superannuation systems, you must ensure your own personal obligations are up to date.If you lodge your tax return through a registered tax agent, the lodgment program due date of 15 May is fast approaching.For more information, refer to Meeting your personal tax obligationsExtracted from the ATO monthly Newsletter - May 2013

From the ATO Next week we will be emailing tax agents we have identified as having clients in the building and construction industry. The email will include a list of those clients we are writing to about lodging the first Taxable payments annual report, and a sample of the letter we are sending. If you are a BAS agent, you should be aware that taxable payments reporting is not required under a BAS provision. Therefore you cannot provide advice on this matter or assist in the lodgment of the...

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) will be running a series of free sessions in Perth and nearby locations from 4 - 6 June 2013. The TPB provide this as an opportunity to receive the latest information on the TPB's regulation of the tax profession and for TPB Board members to hear your views. Attending one of these sessions is a great way to maintain your knowledge and skills relevant to the tax agent or BAS services you provide. It will also give you 1.5 hours of continuing professional educ...

ICB are happy to advise that the April 2013 Members Newsletter Podcast is now available for download to be listened to at your leisure. Click here for the MP4 file and also the Contents and Timing.

THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED BOOKKEEPERS P: 1300 85 61 81 F: 1300 85 73 93 e: admin@icb.org.au w: www.icb.org.au                 April 2013News, views and things you need to know Click here for the Podcast Click here for the PDF version Welcome to the ICB's April 2013 Newsletter. You can download a PDF version here..   Contents   Important N...

There is much debate as to the breadth and depth of what a bookkeeper was and is and should be. There are many claims that due to “the cloud”, bookkeeping is dead and we should all be looking for something else to do. HOW CAN THAT BE When you are asked what you do? Typically we answer “A Bookkeeper”. We need to then explain what that means before you are categorised into whatever that person thinks it means: We spend our time working on advising, setting up and...

During April, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is conducting research, through an external research company - Newspoll. A random selection of tax practitioners will recieve an email inviting them to take part in an online survey. The new Board is keen to hear the views of the tax practitioners to understand how they can better support you to comply with your obligations as a registered tax or BAS agent. The results will be available later this year and the TPB will be keeping you inf...

Compulsory Superannuation Guarantee contribution cut-off dateThe next compulsory superannuation guarantee contribution cut-off date is fast approaching. Remember to make your payments using the Clearing House by Sunday 28 April 2013. Please note, the Australian Taxation Office website advises that where a cut-off date for payment falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, you can make the payment on the next working day after the cut-off date.  For more information go to www.ato.gov....

Following the success and feedback of last year's End of Year Workshops, we will be hosting five weekend workshops over June 2013.We are only inviting members at this stage so please ensure you book quickly!Over the two days you will cover need to know information on End of Year Processes, Payroll updates, tips and tricks and much more..... This 2 day weekend workshop will give you 12 hours of CPE (BAS Agents are required to maintain 15 hours of CPE per year!). SATURDAYPresented ...

Businesses that hire mature-aged workers are now eligible to receive the new $1000 Experience+ Jobs bonus. The bonus is available to any business that provides employment opportunities to job seekers aged 50 years and above. This incentive aims to: increase mature-age participation in the workforce address negative attitudes to mature-aged people encourage employers to recognise the wealth of knowledge and experience that mature-aged people can bring to business. There a...

ICB are happy to advise that the March 2013 Members Newsletter Podcast is now available for download to be listened to at your leisure. Click here for the MP4 file and also the Contents and Timing.

THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED BOOKKEEPERS P: 1300 85 61 81 F: 1300 85 73 93 e: admin@icb.org.au w: www.icb.org.au                 March 2013News, views and things you need to know Click here for the PDF version Welcome to the ICB's March 2013 Newsletter.  You can download a PDF version here..   Contents   Important News. * Winning ...

From time to time it is necessary for maintenance to be carried out on our online infrastructure.Scheduled maintenance will be carried out as follows:QuickBooks Hosted: 12:00AM to 3:00AM AEDT, Sunday, 31 March 2013CashBook Online: 12:00AM to 12:30AM AEDT, Sunday, 31 March 2013During the respective periods, QuickBooks Hosted and CashBook Online will not be accessible. We strongly recommend that you and your clients log out of your online account(s) before maintenance commences to avoid losing ...

BAS Agent Portal upgrade Also, if the Access Manager system installs successfully, we hope to complete the upgrade of the BAS Agent Portal that we alerted you to in our July 2012 newsletter. Enhancements in this upgrade include giving you access to: view and print your clients' activity statement accounts update some client details, including adding activity statement tax roles online reports online forms an expanded list of 'Mail' topics and subjects New menu options avai...

Transitional BAS Agents registration end on the 28th Feb 2013 If you have been in the BAS Agent system as a notifier or transitional (or for that matter a Standard application) then for renewals you will need to have the full education and experience requirements for being a BAS Agent. If you have never been a BAS Agent before and you apply as a Transitional Application before 1 March 2013 then you can qualify as a BAS Agent by being "Competent" for a "Reasonable Period". See the TPB websi...