IN THE WAKE of the Hayne Recommendations, the Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA) is hosting 250 delegates from some of Australia’s leading businesses at its inaugural conference from April 30 to May 1, to discuss how to rebuild trust in corporate Australia.

GCNA executive director Kylie Porter said the expectation for leadership has shifted away from government institutions to business, and more specifically business leaders.

“It is crucial that businesses come together to discuss how they will demonstrate that they have a social licence to operate while simultaneously acting in the best interest of their shareholders,” she said.

“At the conference we will discuss how companies have the opportunity to rebuild trust through sustainable and responsible business practices, and how businesses can shift their culture to be one founded on ethics and purpose over profit.”

Participants will hear from renowned speakers including Gillian Triggs (former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission), Professor John Ruggie (former special adviser to UN General Secretary Kofi Annan and author of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) and Emmanuel Lulin (chief ethics officer of L’Oreal).

The speakers will address the need for business leaders to speak out on social and environmental issues and challenge existing business norms; rebuilding trust through a human rights lens and the social component of ESG; and what the ethics revolution means for businesses in Australia and globally.

Trust will also be explored through the lens of businesses becoming leading authorities on policy debates, such as anti-corruption regulation and climate change, and on topics such as trust in digital technology, the role of the circular economy and the power of Indigenous reconciliation.

“Australian corporates need to demonstrate how they are shifting their focus to building robust cultures that drive purpose and enable organisations to thrive. We hope that the GCNA’s conference will allow business leaders to understand what levers they can pull to balance the pillars of responsible business and ethics with the expectations of profit to regain trust in corporate Australia,” said David Cooke, chair of the GCNA.

Venue: The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Date: 12pm on April 30 to 5.30pm on May 1, 2019.

http://www.unglobalcompact.org.au/2019conference

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation to reject legislation proposing a ban on the development of coal reserves in the State’s Galilee Basin.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane, who gave evidence to the State Development, Natural Resources and Agricultural Industry Development Committee and made a joint written submission with the CFMEU, said the legislation was written by the Greens to write off future jobs, investment, exports and royalties for all Queenslanders.

“I urge all Members of Parliament to vote against this Bill and reaffirm their commitment to the resources sector and acknowledge the 316,000 Queensland men and women working in it,” he said. 

“This sort of bumper sticker legislation is dangerous. It completely disregarded the facts that all mining projects are subject to a comprehensive environmental approval process, their operations are subject to an environmental authority and they undertake rehabilitation of the site,” Mr Macfarlane said.

The Mineral Resources (Galilee Basin) Amendment Bill 2018 proposed the Parliament: prohibits the grant of a coal mining lease for land in the Galilee Basin; terminates any existing coal mining leases for land in the Galilee Basin; amends any existing coal mining leases which overlap with land in the Galilee Basin to exclude that land; confirms that no compensation is payable to the mining lease holders affected by the Bill; and
requires the Mines Minister to table a report in the Legislative Assembly summarising the actions taken under the provisions of the Bill.

QRC and CFMEU’s joint submission to the Committee warned that the precedent for Parliament to cancel any approval or right will clearly deter future investment, future job creation and future economic development in other industries— not just coal mining.

There are numerous projects planned for Queensland. The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science reported in a recent Resources and Energy Quarterly,  that in Queensland, there are: $22.9 billion in projects at the publicly-announced stage; $68.7 billion at the feasibility stage; $7.9 billion at the committed stage, and $2.1 billion at the completed stage.

The committee recommended  the Mineral Resources (Galilee Basin) Amendment Bill 2018 not be passed.

The committee also recommended that the Queensland State Government advocate for a consistent national framework for climate change policy and emission targets, as the current federal policy instability may hinder Queensland’s adoption of future climate change actions and pathways.

Mr Macfarlane said the Committee’s recommendation on consistent national framework for climate change policy and emission targets aligned with QRC’s policy.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE employer and employee representatives for Queensland mine workers have called on former Greens leader Bob Brown to immediately repudiate reported claims from supporters of his anti-jobs tour that liken coal industry jobs to Nazis working in gas chambers during the Holocaust.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane and CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland district president Stephen Smyth said the reported comments were a shocking attack on hard-working Queenslanders and their families.

“These Queenslanders work in skilled jobs to keep both the Queensland and Australian economies strong,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

"Their work supports local jobs, boosts exports, pays royalty taxes for the Queensland Government to reinvest in schools and hospitals, and stimulates company taxes that the Australian Government can spend across the nation including Mr Brown’s home state of Tasmania,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“I cannot think of a more offensive comment for one Australian to call another. Bob Brown needs to repudiate this rubbish -- Brown needs to stick to the facts, and drop the disgusting attacks.”

Mr Smyth said the Bob Brown anti-job convoy had already demonstrated hypocrisy with the vehicles dependent on steel made from metallurgical coal and electric vehicles powered by thermal coal generated through Queensland Government-owned efficient generators.

“On behalf of those men and women working in our coal industry, Bob Brown should apologise for the attack on them by his supporters. Bob Brown is stirring up hysteria and these claims that jobs in Queensland coal mines are like Nazi gas chambers in World War Two are the bottom of the barrel," Mr Smyth said.

"As Mr Brown rallies against jobs in Brisbane, the economic contribution of the resources sector to both the capital region and regional economies is very significant," Mr Macfarlane said.

www.qrc.org.au

www.cfmeuqld.asn.au

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RENTAL property owners are being warned to ensure their claims are correct this tax time, as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announces it will double the number of audits scrutinising rental deductions.

In the 2017–18 financial year, more than 2.2 million Australians claimed over $47 billon in deductions. Assistant Commissioner Gavin Siebert said that this year, the ATO has made rental deductions a top priority.

“A random sample of returns with rental deductions found that nine out of 10 contained an error. We are concerned about the extent of non-compliance in this area and will be looking very closely at claims this year,” he said.

When it comes to dodgy claims, the ATO’s detection methods are becoming more advanced.

“We use a range of third party information including data from financial institutions, property transactions and rental bonds from all states and territories, and online accommodation booking platforms, in combination with sophisticated analytics to scrutinise every tax return,” Mr Siebert said.

“Where we identify claims of concern, ATO staff will investigate and prompt taxpayers to amend unjustifiable claims. If necessary, we will commence audits,” he said.

“Over-claiming robs the whole community of essential services and will not be tolerated by the Australian community. The Government recently allocated additional funds to the ATO to extend its program of audits and reviews of rental properties.

“We expect to more than double the number of in-depth audits we conduct this year to 4,500, with a specific focus on over-claimed interest, capital works claimed as repairs, incorrect apportionment of expenses for holiday homes let out to others, and omitted income from accommodation sharing,” Mr Siebert said.

“Once our auditors begin, they may search through even more data including utilities, tolls, social media and other online content to determine whether the taxpayer was entitled to claims they’ve made,” he said.

While no penalties will apply for taxpayers who amend their returns due to genuine mistakes, deliberate attempts to over-claim can attract penalties of up to 75 percent of the claim. In 2017–18, the ATO audited over 1,500 taxpayers with rental claims, and applied penalties totalling $1.3 million.

In one case, a taxpayer was penalised over $12,000 for over-claiming deductions for their holiday home when it was not made genuinely available for rent, including being blocked out over seasonal holiday periods. Another taxpayer had to pay back $5,500 because they had not apportioned their rental interest deduction to account for redraws on their investment loan to pay for living expenses.

“This tax time, our message to taxpayers is clear. If you are renting out a room or a property, any money you earn must be declared as income and any deductions you claim may need to be apportioned for private use,” Mr Siebert said.

Key issues the ATO is checking and asking about this tax time:

Is loan interest being claimed correctly?

If you took out a loan to purchase a rental property, you can claim interest (or a portion of the interest) as a deduction. However, if you use some of the loan money for personal use such as paying for living expenses, buying a boat or going on a holiday, you can’t claim the interest on that part of the loan. You can only claim the part of the interest that relates to the rental property.

Do you know the difference between capital works and repairs?

Repairs or maintenance to restore something that’s broken, damaged or deteriorating are deductible immediately. Improvements or renovations are categorised as capital works and are deductible over a number of years.

Initial repairs for damage that existed when the property was purchased, such as replacing broken light fittings or repairing damaged floor boards, can’t be claimed as an immediate deduction but may be claimed over a number of years as a capital works deduction.

Do you have a holiday home?

A holiday home is different to a rental investment property. A holiday home is generally a private asset you use for family holidays, for which you cannot claim expense deductions.

However if you let your property out at ‘mates rates’ (ie below market rates to family and friends) you can claim expenses up to the amount of income you receive. If your property is genuinely available for rent – which means making it available during key holiday periods, keeping it in a condition that people would want to rent it, and not unreasonably refusing tenants – it becomes more like a rental investment property and you can claim deductions for the days it is either rented or is genuinely available.

Have you kept records?

The number one cause of the ATO disallowing a claim is taxpayers being unable to produce receipts or other documents to support a claim. Furnishing fraudulent or doctored records will attract higher penalties and may also result in prosecution.

Dealing with disasters – damaged or destroyed property

For taxpayers whose income-generating investment properties are damaged during a natural disaster, the ATO has a range of support, advice and guidance available.

If your personal assets – such as your home or household goods – are damaged or destroyed in a disaster, there will generally be no tax consequences if you receive an insurance payout.

However, if an income-producing asset, such as an investment property, is damaged or destroyed, you’ll need to work out the correct tax treatment of insurance payouts you receive and your costs in rebuilding, repairing or replacing the assets.

The impacts of a natural disaster may affect the types of expenses you can claim and the income you need to declare for your rental property.
See: ato.gov.au/individuals/dealing-with-disasters/damaged-or-destroyed-property/rental-properties-and-business-premises/

For more information on holiday homes, visit ato.gov.au/holidayhomes

For more information on renting out all or part of your home, visit ato.gov.au/sharingeconomy

For general information on rental properties, including a suite of educational videos, visit ato.gov.au/rental

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