February 2023 Newsletter
Please click on the following link to view this month's newsletter for February 2023. We would like to highlight the following articles:-
Non-deductible threshold removed for self education expenses
Self-education expenses are generally deductible if there is a sufficient connection with the taxpayer’s income-producing activities. The self-education or study must either:
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maintain or improve the specific skills or knowledge you need to perform your current employment activities.
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result in or is likely to result in, an increase in your income from your current employment activities.
However, until new legislation was recently passed, the amount you could deduct for certain expenses was limited by s 82A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 so that only the amount spent over a $250 threshold was deductible.
This deduction limit was first introduced in 1975 alongside a long-repealed concessional tax rebate of $250. In essence, the original intention of the deduction limit was to ensure that taxpayers did not receive both the tax rebate and a tax deduction for the same set of expenses.
The change applies for the 2022–2023 income year and onwards.
Sharing economy reporting regime commences soon
As part of the Federal Government’s strategy to combat the tax compliance risks posed by the sharing economy, it has passed into law new requirements for operators of electronic distribution platforms to provide information to the ATO on transactions made through their platforms.
Examples of sharing economy electronic platform operators include Uber, Airbnb, Car Next Door, Menulog, Airtasker and Freelancer.
Electronic platform operators will soon be required to regularly provide transaction information to the ATO through the Taxable Payments Reporting System (TPRS). The information obtained will be used in ATO data-matching to help identify entities that may not be meeting their tax obligations.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries in relation to your tax and accounting matters.