Tax Time 2022 update – 12 July
The Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group (TPSG) Tax Time 2022 meeting was held on Tuesday 12 July 2022. Key messages and themes from the discussion are listed.
On this page
Attendance
Role changes for attendees are noted below:
- Les De Wind was an apology, Dilek Temizkan represented Lodge and Pay
- Andrew Watson was an apology, Kelly Norwood represented Small Business.
TPSG external member apologies:
- Mark Morris, BNR Partners
- Matthew Addison, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
- Warren Seeto, Clarity Professional Group.
Welcome
Members were welcomed and advised of changes to ATO representatives for the meeting.
ATO updates
ATO Systems and Digital services
- There is stability across internal and external facing systems, with no exceptions or issues to report.
- Receipt of pre-fill dividend, interest and health insurance data is tracking well, with a majority of anticipated data received as per below
- 67% of dividend data has been received
- 71% of private health insurance data has been received
- 83% of interest data has been received.
Member comments
A member queried whether any of the crypto tax software products on the market integrated with pre-fill.
The ATO advised that there are certain restrictions on the receipt of crypto trading data and that we would investigate and advise members.
A member advised that the pre-fill identifies that there has been crypto trading, however it does not provide the amount.
Service Delivery
- Call volumes have increased as expected but are being managed well.
- The average wait time across the tax agent queues is less than one minute.
- Lodgment is going well – safety nets were removed late on Friday 8 July.
- Refunds will be deposited into bank accounts later this week.
Member comments
A member queried whether the common topics or queries received by the contact centres would be published to ato.gov this year.
The ATO confirmed that this would occur. Common call drivers across all queues will be analysed and information will be published to assist the community.
Marketing and Communication
- The key tax time focus areas for communications this week include
- industry-specific deductions
- COVID-19 related income and deductions
- knowing when to lodge a return
- the tax treatment of crypto assets (media release and video content).
- The ATO will continue to emphasise the importance of
- keeping correct records to substantiate claims and to declare correct income
- only claiming business deductions that are directly related to earning assessable income.
- The Tax professionals newsletter will include articles on
- reporting worldwide income for non-residents
- helping your clients understand phase 2 of Single Touch Payroll
- making sure your clients provide the right details for their taxable payments annual report (TPAR)
- tips on using Tax practitioner assistance
- an update of the Division 7A calculator and decision tool.
- Promotions commenced for eInvoicing week, which runs from 15 to 21 August 2022.
- This event aims to raise awareness of how businesses can get started using eInvoicing to send and receive digital invoices.
- The ATO appreciates businesses are keen to hear from their trusted advisers and those who are already using eInvoicing.
- The Tax professionals newsroom offers an information piece – Tips to get shares right this tax time – where you can find out about our focus areas for shares, to help you prepare for clients with these investments.
Member comments
A member queried whether there were any planned communications that highlighted the general tax, main residence and capital gains implications for those operating in the shared economy. The member highlighted that there appears to be some misconception out in the community.
The ATO advised that we would confirm the current extent and scope of planned messaging on this topic and would report back to members.
A member suggested that an emphasis be placed on only claiming for COVID-19 expenses that have been incurred and not reimbursed. This would assist in ensuring that a claim is made once, by the eligible party.
The ATO acknowledged the suggestion and will seek to reiterate this very important message in communications and via tax time spokesperson updates.
Small Business
No exceptions to report.
Member comments
A member queried whether the ATO had considered the approach adopted by the New Zealand Inland Revenue, where the publishing of credit agency information was used to influence engagement with those with unpaid debts.
The ATO confirmed we would engage with the Lodge and Pay area and seek to have the topic brought to the next TPSG quarterly meeting for discussion.
Lodge and Pay
No exceptions or issues to report.
Member comments
A member queried whether there were any updates regarding people impacted by floods, highlighting the approaching due date for business activity statements.
The ATO advised that there was no update at this time, however discussion on any strategies adopted will be held with members at one of the upcoming meetings.
Individuals
No issues or exceptions to report.
Superannuation and employer obligations
- 14.7 million income statements have been finalised and are available in pre-fill.
- 70% of employers have finalised, leaving close to 6 million yet to be lodged.
- Members were encouraged to remind clients, association members and their networks of the approaching 14 July deadline.
Member issues and insights
Reported issue updates
A member queried if the revised web content for the work from home transport expenses ruling could be reviewed prior to being published.
The ATO advised that the changes to the web content that were proposed in the most recent discussion paper, will be considered as part of an ongoing refresh of the web content. However, there is no timeframe as to when this will occur. The member will be contacted in due course, and the content may be brought to the Communications and Content Working Group for review.
Separate to this web content, there have been updates to the Employees guide for work expenses. This includes content on the ‘entitlement to a deduction’ issue regarding occupancy expenses and the main residence exemption.
A member queried examples of client information showing as 'tax ready' prior to the pre-fill data being available.
Members were requested to send any examples to the TPSG mailbox.
The ATO advised that when an employer finalises employment data in STP, two separate processes occur:
- There is an update in the income statement in myGov that shows that the Income Statement is ‘Tax ready’.
- A separate process sends the data to pre-fill tables supporting myTax, Online services for agents and practitioner lodgment service. Due to the volumes at this time of year, this process can take several hours.
There may be a discrepancy due to the timing between the two processes for some early lodgers, but with the majority of STP data being required to be finalised by 14 July, the ATO does not expect this to be an issue outside of this early peak period.
The ATO is considering how we better coordinate the two processes in future, but this will take some time and will not be fixed for this financial year.
A member highlighted the challenges of navigating multiple environmental conditions and disasters and the potential impact on the small business population (building and construction industry as an example), suggesting the ATO consider the engagement approach.
The ATO has an adverse events framework, which guides our response to disasters. We also have industry specific focus areas, which include the building and construction industry. A combination of strategies forms our overall response to the environment.
An overview of the adverse events framework will be included as a topic at a future TPSG meeting.
A member reported receipt of an SMS that was addressed to a client, advising that they could lodge online (promoting this service). The client was registered with the agent and, even acknowledging the communication preferencing aspect, they are not a self-preparer and shouldn’t have received the message.
Members were requested to send any examples to the TPSG mailbox for further investigation.
Examples have been received and are being investigated to identify issues associated with the data selection process. The SMS was only intended to be sent to individuals who lodged via paper in 2021. It is possible that a client of an agent would have received the SMS if their agent lodged their return via paper, however other potential causes are being investigated.
New issues
A member advised that some self-preparers attempted to lodge via myTax and reported that they were unable to do so as the health insurance data was not yet available.
The ATO confirmed that the absence of health insurance data does not prevent the lodgment and encouraged the member to clarify the report with the source and to send any further information to the TPSG mailbox.
Useful links and resources
The Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group (TPSG) Tax Time 2022 meeting was held on Tuesday 12 July 2022. Key messages and themes from the discussion are listed.