General Questions
What is the current company tax rate?
For the tax year 2020/2021, the company tax rate is 26% for businesses with a turnover of under $50 million.
When does the Australian Fiscal year end?
The Australian tax year is 1 July through to 30 June.
For example, 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 is the tax year FY20.
Setting up a new business
When do I need to register for GST?
If your turnover is $75,000 and over, you are required to register for GST. If your GST turnover is below the $75,000, registering for GST is optional.
If you choose to register for GST and your turnover is below the $75,000 threshold, you must include GST in your fees and claim GST credits for your business purchases, regardless of your turnover.
What is GST?
GST is Australia’s goods and services tax, currently set at 10%.
Do we need an ACN and an ABN? What is the difference?
An ACN (Australian Company Number) is your unique assigned business number issued by the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) to all new companies registered in Australia. If you are setting up a new company in Australia, you will be required to obtain one.
An ABN (Australian Business Number) is a unique number issued by the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) to all entities that are in business. If an entity is trading as a business, ie sole trader, partnership and company you must obtain an ABN. You will be required to display the ABN on all commercial documents such as contracts, tax invoices, etc.
Setting up business in Australia
Do I need an ABN to register an Australian domain ie .au
Yes, if you want to register the .au domain name, you will need an Australian Business Number (ABN) to do so.
You must register the domain through a domain registrar accredited by the Australian Domain Name Authority (auDA). The auDA is the regulatory body that sets out the use of the .au domain space.
We want to export goods into Australia? Do we need to set up a company?
Not always, depends if your company carries on business in Australia and facilitates other activities in Australia.
Can you help us set up a company in other states of Australia?
Yes, we can certainly assist to register your company, obtain an ACNABN and register for all your tax requirements in other states. You only need to set up a company in one state of Australia, but can have more than one business name registered in other states.
Payroll and hiring staff
Is it necessary to have employment contracts when we hire new employees?
Although not compulsory, a written employment contract is intended to protect you, the employer. A written employment contract helps to eliminate disputes over the terms and conditions of employment that may arise.
Under Australian law, regardless of whether there is an employment agreement in place, a set of minimum entitlements applies automatically to every worker. These are known as the National Employment Standards.
What is Single Touch Payroll?
Single Touch Payroll (STP) requires employers to report all salary and wages, PAYG withholding (tax) and superannuation information directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) at the same time as paying your employees.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) introduced Single Touch Payroll to streamline the administration of employee payroll, tax and superannuation obligations. The STP reporting facility is available through most accounting and payroll software packages including Xero, MYOB, Netsuite, Quickbooks, SAP.
STP was introduced in 2018 for employers with 20 and more employees. It will be compulsory for all businesses to report through STP by 1st July 2019.
What is a WPN?
It is Withholding Payment Number - used for non resident entity who is employing in Australia.
Good business
Why is it important to have a business plan?
A business plan will give you and your management team direction, to chart out growth in a structured way so you can capitalise on the opportunities for your business to become a success!
A business plan will also help:
- Your business to seek finance and/or funding by presenting to banks and investors why they should invest in your business.
- Map out the milestones and the strategies you will need to achieve your goals.
- It will give you better control over your business; by setting specific goals, timeframes for achieving them and how performance will be measured.