The 2022/23 Australian Federal Budget announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week highlighted some key incentives and points of interest for businesses with regards to digital solutions, STP, tax and PAYG reporting.
If the planned spending in the most recent budget progresses with the government in power in the new financial year, there could be no better time for businesses to implement upgrades to their IT and financial business systems.
Incentives for cloud, eInvoicing and cyber security IT upgrades
The federal budget has proposed giving small to medium businesses even more incentive to upgrade their IT systems in the current and next financial years.
As outlined by Frydenberg on Tuesday, with every $100 small-medium businesses (with a turnover less than $50 million) spend on these costs, they can claim $120 in tax returns – or an additional 20% of the costs up to $100,000 AUD.
Eligible businesses can spend on upgrading their digital solutions, such as improving cyber security, adopting eInvoicing solutions and subscribing to
cloud-based services such as
accounting and
payroll software.
Changes to TPAR lodgement cycles
The government has also announced the possibility of new reporting cycle options for Taxable Payments Annual Reporting (TPAR) data. Currently businesses mandated to process TPAR are required to do so by 28 August of each year.
The federal budget anticipates that, after some consultation and planning with the required agents and digital service providers such as Sybiz, businesses will be able to sync their TPAR reporting with their BAS from 1 January 2024.
The expectation is that this change could improve processes for businesses and receipt of reporting for the ATO, while reducing compliance costs for taxpayers.
Single Touch Payroll data to local government
According to the federal budget, Single Touch Payroll (STP) data could be shared between the ATO and state and territory revenue offices in the future.
Although no date for this new data sharing possibility was suggested, with
STP Phase 2 (STP2) being rolled out to businesses over the course of 2022, we can only expect further announcements from the ATO on future phases of STP.
To learn more about getting ready for STP2 with Sybiz,
join our webinar on 29 April. See what you can do to get prepared now with the updates in the Sybiz Visipay 22.10 release, available to customers in early April.
Changes to PAYG instalment calculations
The government has also suggested changes to pay as you go (PAYG) calculations from 1 January 2024. These changes could allow businesses to have a choice about how their PAYG is calculated – the new option being based on their current financial performance.
The aim of this change would be to help businesses with cash flow, by allowing their PAYG to reflect their financial performance more accurately.
Digital service providers who provide accounting and ERP software, such as Sybiz, look to be called on to assist with a digital solution. The budget documentation proposes that the required figures would be generated by accounting software whilst considering certain tax adjustments.
With so many potential changes to accounting and payroll structures being planned and a focus on improving digital reporting and systems, it seems there might be no better time than now to invest in a solution built for your business and the future.
To jump on this opportunity,
talk to the team at Sybiz about our digital accounting and payroll solutions (hosted locally or in the cloud).