The stories you searched for the most in 2020

We thought 2019 was a busy year for tax agents and accountants, but then 2020 dawned and threw the world into disarray with accountants called to suit up and report to the frontline.

As we bid 2020 farewell and look towards 2021 with hope and optimism, let’s take a look at the most-read articles on the Public Accountant.

TPB targets 74 tax practitioners for concerning behaviour

The Tax Practitioners Board is undertaking a review of 74 registered tax practitioners believed to have provided false information to the Commissioner of Taxation.

The identified practitioners are believed to have lodged 2017 and 2018 self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) annual returns with an incorrect, perhaps fraudulently recorded, SMSF auditor number (SAN).

ATO issues notice to tax agents

The Tax Office has issued several reminders to tax agents – one concerning methods to calculate GST turnover for JobKeeper payments and the other a warning on the inappropriate use of myGov.

“If your clients account for GST on a cash basis, they can use either cash or accruals (non-cash) to calculate their GST turnover. If your clients currently use accruals to account for GST we expect in most cases they would continue to use this method. However, if they choose to use the cash basis we may want to understand why the different approach is an appropriate reflection of turnover,” the ATO has clarified following some confusion.

Tax agent caught in tax evasion of over $3.3m

A tax agent has been removed from the Tax Practitioners Board’s register after he evaded over $3.3 million in taxes.

A tax agent was found to have grossly under-reported his income in his 2017 to 2019 tax returns, resulting in a tax shortfall of over $1.6 million.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) audits revealed the agent had failed to declare over $3.4 million of income in these returns, earned from his tax agent business.

Retesting JobKeeper: Employees doing nothing is not an option

The change to the JobKeeper reference date from 1 March to 1 July 2020, effective from 3 August, will require all enrolled employers for JobKeeper to retest employee eligibility, the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has warned.

Staff employed by 1 July 2020 are now eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy, after the scheme was extended and the relevant date of employment pushed back from 1 March to 1 July, increasing eligibility.

“Some employees did not meet the previous criteria but may now be eligible,” said IPA chief executive Andrew Conway.

JobKeeper changes announced, deadline extended

The JobKeeper rules have been updated to include service entities and to shed light on charities and the treatment of government revenue.

To ensure the integrity and the efficient operation of the JobKeeper payment, the Treasurer has announced several clarifications in a statement, including those addressing employees employed through a special purpose entity, rather than an operating entity.

According to Josh Frydenberg, the government will provide an alternate decline in turnover test for the eligibility of special purpose service entities that provide employee labour to group members and that have not met the basic test for decline in turnover.