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ATO takes over Small Business Superannuation Clearing House
DESIGNED to help reduce red tape for small business, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is to take over the operations of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House – and produce a mobile ‘app’ to help streamline the processes.
The cost of administering superannuation for staff has long been a bone of contention for small businesses in particular, second perhaps only to the cost of administering and collecting the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Assistant Treasurer, Senator Arthur Sinodinos said the re-allocation to the ATO was the first step to reduce the compliance burden employers face when making superannuation contributions for their workers.
He said the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House was a free online service that helped small businesses with 19 or fewer employees meet their superannuation guarantee obligations. It allows employers to pay superannuation contributions in one transaction to a single location to reduce red tape and compliance costs.
“The ATO is best placed to increase the take up rate of the clearing house as they have access to data on who is eligible for this free service,” Senator Sinodinos said.
“This is a positive first step in progressing the government’s election commitment to provide a better way to pay superannuation for workers by remitting compulsory superannuation payments directly to the ATO, with the tax office distributing contributions to individual accounts.”
Sen. Sinodinos said this process would be followed up with “an extensive stakeholder consultation process so the government can better understand superannuation compliance cost concerns and develop further options to reduce these costs”.
Sen. Sinodinos issued a statement that small businesses would be able to use the ATO’s app on mobile devices to:
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find out if their worker is an employee or contractor for tax and super purposes;
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search small business assist, the ATO’s online service that provides an easy pathway for small business to find information they need on a range of tax and super topics, with the option to book an after-hours call from an ATO customer service consultant;
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use the payment plan estimator to simulate a payment plan for an ATO debt. Users will also be provided with information on how to enter a payment plan once they have determined the arrangement that would suit their needs; and
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get news and updates as well as answers to frequently asked questions.
Sen. Sinodinos said the move was part of the Federal Government’s commitment to cut $1 billion worth of red-tape out of the economy and “will make life easier for small business as they already have dealings with the ATO”.
Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) began in April 2008, record numbers of small and medium businesses have collapsed around Australia, leaving a trail of unpaid superannuation and uncollected GST.
According to the ATO’s 2012-13 annual report, there was almost $18 billion in what was termed ‘collectible debt’ and there was a further $1.8 billion deemed uncollectible from organisations that had collapsed and been liquidated. About 60 percent of the collectible debt, $10.6 billion, was owed by small business.
The ATO’s total collectable debt increased from $16.6 billion in 2011-12 to $17.7 billion in 2012-13, according to the annual report.
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