Tax Facts - Activity Statement
Businesses use activity statements to report and pay a number of tax obligations, including GST, pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding and fringe benefits tax. Non-business individuals who need to pay quarterly PAYG instalments also use activity statements.
Activity statements are personalised to each business or individual to support reporting against identified obligations.
Activity statements for businesses may be due either quarterly or monthly. Generally, businesses can lodge and pay quarterly if annual turnover is less than $20 million, and total annual PAYG withholding is $25,000 or less. Businesses that exceed one or both of those thresholds will have at least some monthly obligations. Non-business individuals are generally required to lodge and pay quarterly.
Businesses or individuals with small obligations may be able to lodge and pay annually. Some taxpayers may receive an instalment notice for GST and/or PAYG instalments, instead of an activity statement.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) web site provides instructions on lodging and paying activity statements. Detailed instructions are provided for each of the different tax obligations:
Tax Facts - General Value Shifting
The General Value Shifting Regime (GVSR) applies to arrangements that shift value between assets, causing discrepancies between the market values and tax values of the assets. Most value shifts happen when parties don't deal at the market value, causing one asset to decrease while the other increases.
Three scenarios are targeted under the GVSR. Exclusions apply to small values in each of the scenarios, as follows:
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Indirect value shifting (exclusion applies if total value shifts under a scheme are less than $150,000)
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Direct value shifts on interests (exclusion applies if total value shifted is equal to or less than $50,000)
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Direct value shifts by creating rights (exclusion applies if the market value of the right granted exceeds the proceeds for the grant by $50,000 or less).
Generally, the GVSR does not apply to normal commercial dealings conducted at market value, or dealings within consolidated groups. There are several other exclusions and safe harbours in the rules.
Tax Facts - Fuel Schemes
Fuel schemes provide credits and grants to reduce the costs of some fuels or provide a benefit to encourage recycling of waste oils. There are various types of schemes:
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Fuel tax credits for business - provides a credit for the excise or customs duty included in the price of fuel used for business activities, in machinery, plant, equipment and heavy vehicles.
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Fuel tax credits - domestic electricity generation and non-profit emergency vessels or vehicles
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Cleaner fuels grants scheme - encourages making or importing fuels that have a lesser impact on the environment. Eligible cleaner fuels include biodiesel and renewable diesel, as well as low or ultra-low sulphur conventional fuels like low sulphur premium unleaded petrol (PULP) and ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD). The cleaner fuels grants scheme closed on 1 July 2015.
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Product stewardship for oil (PSO) program - supports recycling oil for environmental sustainability. This includes recycling used oil and using recycled oil.
The former Energy grants credits scheme that applied to alternative fuels and diesel no longer operates for new purchases of fuel.