THE House of Representatives Committee on Tax and Revenue will be holding a public hearing for its inquiry into the Commissioner of Taxation Annual Report 2018-19.  

Chair of the Committee, Jason Falinski MP, said the Committee was interested to hear from a number of professionals and academics from the tax sector about their experiences in dealing with the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

"The Committee has a long-standing and productive relationship with the ATO and it looks forward to exploring its operations in more detail," Mr Falinski said.

"In previous inquiries, the Committee has made a number of recommendations to the ATO about ways to improve its processes and practices and we look forward to hearing how things have progressed over the last two years."

Further information about the inquiry is available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday, 26 June 2020
Time: 10am to 11am
Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra (via video/teleconference)

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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EFTPOS today launched an advertising campaign to promote a way that Australia’s small businesses may be able to reduce their costs as they rebuild after COVID-19.

The six week campaign will help inform merchants about how they can potentially reduce the fees they pay to accept ‘tap’ card transactions on dual-branded debit cards by routing them through eftpos as opposed to international payment companies.

Known as Least Cost or Merchant Choice Routing, the method can lead to significant savings of up to 40 percent (based on numbers provided in the RBA Bulletin March 2020) on transaction fees from debit cards – Australia’s most popular form of payment.

“Right now in Australia, nothing is more important for Australian business owners than protecting cash flow,” eftpos CEO Stephen Benton said. “There are many things outside their control such as labour costs and utility bills, but they may be able to reduce the cost of receiving payments by Least Cost Routing.

“With debit cards accounting for more than 70 percent of card transactions in Australia and more consumers moving away from cash after COVID-19, routing has the potential to deliver significant savings for many thousands of small and medium businesses across the country. In turn, these cost savings could also flow to customers in the form of lower prices or reduced surcharges.”

There are around 35 million dual-branded debit cards in Australia – featuring the eftpos logo on the back and an international scheme on the front.

The new eftpos campaign launches today and will run across outdoor, digital and social media, as well as radio and print publications. It’s the first significant advertising eftpos has done in three years.

Mr Benton said the new campaign was an expression of the company’s purpose – "to do good for Australia" – by offering the opportunity for reduced fees, specifically for small and medium businesses and their customers during this difficult time.

“The Reserve Bank has promoted Least Cost Routing for many years as a way of reducing costs for merchants, and has urged the industry to promote the service more widely,” Mr Benton said. He referred to an article on the RBA Head of Payments Policy on February 5, 2020, published in the Australian Financial Review.

“The message of this campaign is simple – contact your bank or acquirer to find out what savings you can make by routing through eftpos,” Mr Benton said.

About eftpos 

Eftpos is Australia’s debit card system, accounting more than 2 billion CHQ and SAV transactions in 2019 worth around $130 billion.

www.eftposaustralia.com.au 

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THE Financial Services Council (FSC) has welcomed the bipartisan support for the proposed timetable for implementing stronger professional standards and education requirements for financial advisers. 

FSC CEO Sally Loane said the passage of legislation through the Senate is positive news for the financial advice profession and provides needed certainty for all advisers at an unprecedented time for the economy, particularly as demand for advice is surging as a result of the pandemic.  

“Allowing advisers the time to sit the exam and meet the strengthened requirements will continue to build trust in financial services as it contributes to our economic recovery, while encouraging future generations to join the profession,” Ms Loane said. 

"Changes such as these are part of a reform program to help ensure financial advice is affordable and accessible for consumers”. 

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 3) Bill 2019 implements changes to existing requirements for financial advisers announced by the Government in August last year. As a result, financial advisers registered prior to January last year will need to complete the FASEA exam by January 2022 and meet FASEA's qualification requirements by January 1, 2026. 

www.fsc.org.au

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THE Electoral Matters Committee has commenced a review into the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020.

The bill, introduced to the Senate by Senator Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance, would amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act to:

• clarify the relationship between federal and state and territory electoral donation and disclosure laws;
• make technical amendments to address anomalies in entity registration and public election funding rules;
• improve electoral processes, electoral administration, vote issuing procedures and improve workforce flexibility for the Australian Electoral Commission; and
• expand electronically assisted voting methods to Australians working in Antarctica.

The Committee has invited written submissions addressing any or all aspects of the bill.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Submissions are requested by July 3, 2020. Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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