Under the SME Community spotlight this month were debt, activity statements and fringe benefits tax (FBT).
The community was asked whether some small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) with debts to the ATO were 'getting a free ride' and whether different interest (depending on past compliance) should be charged. Members seemed to generally support the concept with a proviso that discretion is used dependent on individual circumstances and that businesses aren't forced to close as a result of a potentially harsher ATO attitude.
A live chat on debt issues was held with Deputy Commissioner for Debt Steve Vesperman and provided some valuable insights for the ATO. Members discussing their debt situations seemed to think two issues were key - businesses should try not to use the ATO as a source of debt in the first place and they should also keep a tight rein in managing any debt situation with customers.
Overall, chat participants said they were comfortable in how we negotiated tax debt situations with them - but they were also interested to know from Steve how it managed it processes and made its assessments on individual SMEs.
A survey on FBT was run on the community, with member feedback highlighting the need for a simplified approach and the possible development of new online tools and calculators to stem the current need for SMEs to make use of (often costly) external advice.
Interestingly, a discussion inviting members to name the key economic events of the last 60 years for business had them nominating goods and services tax (GST), activity statements and ineffectual government attempts to simplify the tax system as the most significant and negative changes for business.
Given the issues members have meeting their activity statement obligations it probably isn't surprising that a two-part webinar series run on activity statements had one of our highest member turnouts yet. Graham Allen, a presenter from ATO Client Education presented these highly informative sessions.
All the activities are available for viewing and participation by community members.
Last Modified: Thursday, 3 November 2011