THE Hayne Royal Commission reinforced the importance of trust and seeking appropriate advice from professionals and this sentiment has been echoed by the ATO acknowledging there is a gap between ‘full financial advice and smaller matters’. 

For people looking for a solution to this gap, the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) believes they should be able to get genuine advice and support from their trusted adviser; the accountant.

“The Productivity Commission observed that 48 percent of Australian adults indicated having unmet financial advice needs.  So, obviously there is an advice gap in Australia which needs to be addressed,” IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway said.

“Other research indicates that there is a gap between the fees that most consumers are prepared to pay and the average fees being charged by financial planners, with the majority of consumers being open to having reviews with someone else if it meant a reduction in fees.

“To address these gaps the IPA has developed a revised financial services licensing regime for qualified accountants, which recognises their existing qualifications and experience.

“Members of the three professional accounting bodies are answerable to high levels of professional and ethical standards, subject to ongoing quality assurance evaluations, and must maintain currency of knowledge through committed and continuous professional development and training” Mr Conway said.

About the Institute of Public Accountants

The IPA, formed in 1923, is one of Australia’s three legally recognised professional accounting bodies.  In late 2014, the IPA acquired the Institute of Financial Accountants in the UK and formed the IPA Group, with more than 36,000 members and students in over 80 countries.  The IPA Group is the largest SME focused accountancy organisation in the world. The IPA is a member of the International Federation of Accountants, the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants.   www.publicaccountants.org.au

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THE CHANGES to Right of Entry (ROE) regulations announced on March 26 are a positive step towards achieving a stronger and fairer approach to rules about union officials entering workplaces, according to Master builders Australia.

Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said, “It is important to ensure worker representatives can access work sites, but it is equally important that the Right of Entry system is strong and rigorous, to make sure it is not abused by union officials who try and get on site to bully and harass small businesses.

“The building and construction industry is plagued by a history of unions breaching ROE rules, with the list of court cases and penalty decisions growing longer every day,” she said.

Since 2015, there have been breaches of ROE rules on construction sites, Ms Wawn outlined:

• By 58 individual CFMEU officials.
• At least 189 times.
• Resulting in penalties of almost $3 million, with three further penalty hearings already set for 2019. 

“Master Builders is pleased that the Government has heard the voice of the building industry, small business, and sub-contractors. Something has needed to be done for a long time to protect workers on sites who, day in day out, face the threat of bullying and abuse by construction union officials.” Ms Wawn said.

“However, more needs to be done and we will be asking both major parties to ensure they close the remaining loopholes that building unions regularly exploit, Denita Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE RECENT Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Value Added Tax/Goods and Services Tax (GST) Global Forum hosted by the ATO in Melbourne displayed the leading role Australia is taking in adapting the GST to respond to the online marketplace, both within Australia and globally.

Deputy Commissioner Tim Dyce said latest revenue figures show that digital marketplaces and lower value international online sales were not an impossible nut to crack.

“The digital services measure has already achieved $272m GST in the first year or 180 percent ahead of forecast," Mr Dyce said.

"We’ve collected $81 million from the low value imported goods measure in the first three months of operation, already above our full year revenue estimate of $70 million. We’re tracking at over 300 percent of forecast.

 “There was a lot of discussion prior to their introduction about whether these kinds of measures could possibly work, and in many ways it is the most significant change in the way we have collected GST since its inception almost exactly 20 years ago.

“Thanks to the right consultation and design, led by Treasury along with the ATO, and with important input from business, the measures have clearly been effective, which shows we can provide a level playing field for online and physical businesses and between domestic and foreign businesses.

“Not only have we had high levels of registration for these measures and well above forecast revenue, we’ve even had feedback from some online sellers that the registration has improved their business processes and given them greater insight into their sales performance,” Mr Dyce said.

The ATO and OECD representatives welcomed officials from over 100 countries last week to the Global Forum to hear their views on a range of GST/VAT issues facing revenue authorities. The interest in our reforms from other countries means that the ATO can look forward to increased international cooperation as more jurisdictions follow this, or similar, models.

“I’d like to thank everyone, from across six continents, who came to talk about next steps last week” Mr Dyce said. "The ATO looks forward to working with both members of the OECD and non-members to build a system that is fit for purpose as we continue to see rapidly evolving and entirely new digital marketplaces.

“International cooperation across all aspects of tax administration remains one of the most important tools we have for ensuring everyone is paying the right amount of tax and that we are protecting honest businesses from unfair competition,” Mr Dyce said.

Further information on the GST measures and other advice on international tax for business is available on the ATO website.

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THE Queensland Resources Council wants the upcoming Federal Government’s Budget and the Opposition’s Budget Reply to commit to reinvesting back into Queensland the extra $1 billion in company tax that will flow into Canberra due to higher metallurgical coal prices. 

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said based on Federal Treasury’s calculations, the higher than projected metallurgical coal price would provide an extra $1.2 billion for the balance of this financial year and next financial year (2019-20).

Mr Macfarlane said he urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to ensure they committed the extra $1 billion to a Maroon Fund.

“Queensland produces the lion’s share of Australia’s metallurgical coal. Queenslanders deserve this billion-dollar unbudgeted windfall reinvested back into their State, where the coal was produced and exported from,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“For every Queenslander, that extra $1 billion counts. Indeed, that extra revenue is the equivalent of $200 for every man, woman and child living in Queensland.”

Prior to Christmas last year, Mr Macfarlane said Federal Treasury projected: “If the metallurgical coal price remained elevated for two quarters longer than currently assumed, before falling immediately to US$120 per tonne FOB, nominal GDP could be around $2.5 billion higher than forecast in 2018-19 and $3.5 billion higher in 2019-20. This would have a flow on impact to company tax receipts estimated at around $0.2 billion in 2018-19 and $1.0 billion in 2019-20.”*

The average metallurgical coal price this year has been US$204 per tonne.

“I am urging community groups, charities, local councils and other industries to nominate their project and cause for the Maroon Fund,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The continuing drought and recent flooding rains have demonstrated the steely resolve of Queenslanders, but it has created a lot of need.  That should be a priority for the Maroon Fund.

“So should important services such as health and education to support the work in our hospitals and in our classrooms.”

Mr Macfarlane said QRC would forward all Maroon Fund funding requests received by Budget Day on April 2 to both Mr Morrison and Mr Shorten.

“QRC will have no role in their selection, but we will ensure both leaders have these funding requests.  I’m sure Queenslanders will be interested before the upcoming Federal election to know where the $1 billion goes,” he said.

“Perhaps the Palaszczuk Government will fill out a form," Mr Macfarlane said. "This $1B would be on top of the more than $5 billion the Qld Government collects from royalty taxes from the resources sector this financial year.”

The Maroon Fund initiative form can be downloaded at https://www.qrc.org.au/nominations/maroon-fund/ 

Mr Macfarlane said the resources sector was already doing its bit to keep Queensland strong – making a contribution of more than $62 billion to the State’s economy or one in five dollars, supporting more than 316,000 full-time equivalent jobs or one in eight jobs in the Queensland workforce, generating more than 80 percent of the State’s record $80 billion annual export sales and working with 1260 community organisations.

www.qrc.org.au

*See page 33 of Link to the 2018-19  Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook https://budget.gov.au/2018-19/myefo/myefo_2018-19.pdf

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