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- The ATO advises that this year (2011-12 – Last updated 10 June 2011) it will be paying close attention to claims from people employed in the following occupations:
- earthmoving plant operators
- flight attendants
- carpenters and joiners, including apprentices and trainees,
- and real estate employees
The most common mistakes made by people in these occupations include:
- not having sufficient documentation to support motor vehicle and travel expenses
- incorrectly claiming motor vehicle expenses on the basis of carrying bulky equipment, and
- incorrectly claiming home office, mobile phone and internet expenses
- Superannuation Options for employees working overseas
- The ATO advises that this year (2011-12 – Last updated 10 June 2011) it will be paying close attention to claims from people employed in the following occupations:
Employers may be paying double super for employees working temporarily overseas. To prevent the payment of double super, Australia has bilateral agreements with many other countries, including a new agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which commenced on 1 April 2011.
Employers are not required to pay super under another country’s laws, provided:
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- Australia has a bilateral agreement with the other country
- the employer continues to make super guarantee contributions in Australia
- the employer (or a related entity) obtains a Certificate of coverage from us.
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For more information, refer to Bilateral agreements.
As a result of a High Court decision on 11 November 2010, you may be eligible to claim a deduction for your study expenses if you received youth allowance to study full-time.
If you were eligible for a deduction in the years 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010, ATO will be writing to advise you that ATO will be amending your assessment(s). You will receive a letter from ATO between 1 March 2011 and 30 April 2011.
For more information go to www.ato.gov.au/studyexpensechanges
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- Unsure if our workers are employees or contractors
Use the employee/contractor decision tool on ATO website which is designed to help you (as a payer) understand whether your individual workers are employees or contractors in order to comply with your Commonwealth tax and superannuation obligations. It is not designed for situations where you enter into an agreement with a company, partnership or trust for them to provide a worker, or obtain workers through an intermediary such as a labour hire firm, or where you are a labour hire firm.
Once you have answered a series of questions, you will be provided a report which will give:
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- a decision of employee or contractor (for Commonwealth taxation and superannuation purposes) for this particular arrangement
- a summary of the information you have provided the basis of the decision, and
- a summary of your Commonwealth taxation and superannuation obligations relating to the worker.
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For more information go to Unsure if our workers are employees or contractors.