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.

Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos with Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a media conference.

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:

• find out if their worker is an employee or contractor for tax and super purposes;
• 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;
• 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
• 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.

http://www.ato.gov.au/

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BUSINESSES Australia-wide should benefit from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s (AAT) creation of what is being called a ‘rocket docket’ to speed up commercial decision making.

Sean Robertson, McCullough Robertson Lawyers.

AAT, the tribunal that reviews certain decisions made by Federal Government regulatory bodies, will use the rocket docket to accelerate decisions that have significant commercial ramifications and those relating to the accreditation, licensing or registration of individuals or companies.

McCullough Robertson Lawyers corporate advisory team partner, Sean Robertson said the new system was expected to “greatly expedite the hearing of those appeals” and businesses Australia-wide would benefit from the introduction of an expedited appeals process to overcome current delays of often a year or more.

“My clients often want to appeal regulatory decisions, but the time spent getting the decision to an AAT hearing generally makes an appeal pointless from a commercial perspective,” Mr Robertson said.

“We are hopeful that the introduction of the rocket docket will change that.”

Many of Mr Robertson’s clients are in the agribusiness sector, producing and distributing wine, olives, cotton, timber, poultry, cattle, almonds, flowers, sugar, water and grain. Delayed decisions can have dramatic impacts on these businesses.

Mr Robertson, a regular lecturer on compliance with the Corporations Act 2001 and financial services generally, has published many papers and articles and he also co-authored A Practical Guide to Managed Investments published by the Law Book Company, which is now in its third edition.  

The AAT is a quasi-judicial body responsible for reviewing certain administrative decisions of organs of the Federal Government, and arriving at what is often termed in judgements as the “correct and preferable” decision. 

The tribunal reviews a wide array of administrative decisions, including those by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The AAT’s Annual Report for 2012-2013 revealed that in that year, 60 percent of matters progressed to a hearing within 40 weeks of lodgement, and that the AAT generally aimed to finalise the majority of applications within 12 months of lodgement.

The AAT has sought public comment on the proposed docket. The draft can be found on the AAT’s website at http://www.aat.gov.au/.

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JANUARY 31 is the deadline for registering property interests on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) under the Federal Government’s transitional provisions.

January 31 is the deadline for Personal Property Securities registrations - or you may go down the list of claimants.

While organisations can still register a transitional security interest (TSI) on the PPSR after January 31, 2014, registering until after that date will result in losing the benefit of the transitional provisions – which could mean losing your current payment priority after a default.

The ‘perfected’ status of the security interest will only begin from the time of registration on the PPSR, instead of the earlier date allowable under the transitional provisions of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPS Act) if registered before midnight of  January 31, 2014, Canberra time.

If a security interest loses its ‘perfected’ status its priority ranking will not be preserved. Another person or organisation with a security interest in the same collateral with a higher priority ranking (for example, a secured party who registered during the transitional period) will be paid out ahead of your organisation in the case of a default.

There is also the risk that if the grantor enters bankruptcy or insolvency, and a security interest has not been perfected at relevant times, the security holder will lose their security interest altogether.

From January 30 2012, the PPS Act established a new system for the creation, priority and enforcement of security interests in personal property, which it describes as all property other than land, fixtures and certain statutory interests.

The PPS Act generally applies to security interests in goods located in Australia, or to the grantor of the security interest being an Australian entity.

The centrepiece of the PPS Act is the national Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) on which security interests in personal property are registered.

A TSI is an interest in personal property that, in substance, secures payment or performance of an obligation which existed prior to January 30, 2012.

TSIs also include security interests that did not exist at January 30, 2012, but were created under a security agreement that existed prior to that date and continued to exist after that time.

An example of this could be goods supplied in 2013 under a retention of title (ROT) agreement that was created in 2011.

TSIs can include ‘PPS leases’, which are generally leases for a term of more than a year, or more than 90 days for certain serial numbered goods, such as a car.

Secured parties need to register their TSIs on the PPSR before midnight on January 31, 2014, Canberra time, to take advantage of ‘temporary perfection’ and preserve the priority status of that TSI. Temporary perfection for the TSI will not apply from February 1, 2014. Registration of a TSI is free.

Examples of commercial arrangements that may be TSIs not yet registered on the PPSR include leases/hiring agreements, retention of title supplies and commercial consignments.

If not registered, the ‘perfected’ status of a security interest will only begin from the time of registration on the PPSR, instead of the earlier date allowable under the transitional provisions.

http://www.ppsr.gov.au/

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TEYS Australia chief executive Brad Teys said he was "disappointed' over Friday’s (May 31) 24-hour strike by the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) at the firm's Beenleigh, Queensland plant. He called on the union to negotiate rather than strike in the "middle of negotiations" for a new workplace agreement.

Teys Australia CEO, Brad Teys. (Image: teysaust.com.au)

Mr Teys said today's union claims that workers are being offered less pay was a smokescreen, as nothing has been finalised.

“All of our staff are paid – and will continue to be paid – above award rates. What we can no longer sustain are outdated and unrealistic employment terms that make us uncompetitive,” Mr Teys said.

Mr Teys said these included 50 percent leave loading, penalty rates within ordinary hours, forced payment for idle time and increased workers compensation benefits above that prescribed by legislation.

Teys’ workers, he said, are even mandated an extra 'Butcher’s Picnic' public holiday which is never actually observed but requires penalty rates to be paid.

“The AMIEU seems determined to remain in the 70s, refusing to acknowledge the reality that unless things change there will be no jobs," Mr Teys said.

“Australians understand that the workplace model of decades ago, where unions told you what you could and couldn’t do, and what you would and wouldn’t pay, is gone.”

Mr Teys said he was baffled by the union’s claim that the plant’s profit over nine years of $38 million meant that the company could afford to bow to the union’s demands.

“This equals an average annual profit of $4.2 million on a $150 million asset base. That’s a 2.8 percent return, decreasing to a one per cent return over the past four years.”

He pointed out that a bank would have provided a four percent return with no risk - even at record low interest rates.

“Does the union want us to lose money?" he asked. "It’s weird logic. If we are not making a profit there will be no jobs and who wins then?”

Mr Teys said the forward view was one of drought, more hard times for producers and distorted markets.

“We must change the way we operate. We must reform or there will be no beef processing industry.

“We call on the union to stop the power games, put their members’ interests first and get back to the negotiating table.”

www.teysaust.com.au

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