Compliance program 2009-10

Micro enterprises

There are around 2.7 million micro businesses and 397,700 self-managed superannuation funds in the micro enterprises market. Micro businesses range from owner-operators to entities with significant numbers of employees. Many operate in innovative ways, with electronic and international trading becoming more common.

While micro enterprises participate in industries across the economy, more than 60% are in property, trades, construction, finance, professional and technical services, primary production and retail. They pay around 11% of all tax we collect and employ more than 21% of all people employed in Australia. About 95% of micro enterprises lodge their returns through tax agents.

As employers, micro enterprises face additional compliance obligations including managing PAYG withholding, superannuation guarantee and FBT obligations.

Micro enterprises account for about two-thirds of outstanding collectable tax debt at any point in time.

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Sections within Micro enterprises

• Our approach
• Headline issues
• Specific compliance issues
• Feature