Filing Multiple LateTax Returns

Have you forgotten to lodge your tax returns for a number of years?

Big brother has got even more tools up his sleeve to find you. Big brother now has access to most government computer systems to check that returns,  both Commonwealth and State are being lodged and correctly calculated.

 Why should you care?

•  If you owe any tax then interest is normally charged at the current rate of 9.01%.

• If you are a super fund then you could be deemed a non-complying fund and the assets are then taxed at 49% OUCH!

• The Taxation Office can issue you with a summons and the Court usually then imposes a fine from $2, 000 to $5, 000 per year. Another Ouch! Once the summons is issued the Court will not let you off even if you have lodged the returns by the time of the Court hearing.

• If you continue to not lodge the return then the Taxation Office can do an estimate of your tax payable and then issue a Notice of Assessment for its calculation. Remember that this is their estimate and they will be generous for themselves. You can object but you then must PROVE what your real taxable income is. This is hard work. Also the amount that is assessed is deemed payable in one month and the Taxation Office can commence recovery proceedings
  immediately for which there is no defence.

• Added to this is the cost paid to us for preparing the outstanding accounts and tax returns.
  Because you are late you will be missing some records and bank statements. Time needs to be spent collecting this information.

• We probably have not got you on Banklink which sends your bank statements to us electronically and allows automatic coding for about 75% of transactions. It is also too late to set up bank feeds into Xero or MYOB Live etc.

• The laws and rules change regularly and although we have an expensive tax reporting service and have CCH Master Tax Guides going back to 1978, it takes time for research

• If you have share investments there would have been takeovers, share splits, buy backs, capital returns, share issues and special dividends. Again more research.

However the GOOD NEWS is that the team at Peter Vickers & Associates regularly does this for clients and gets their affairs in order.

Besides the ouch! of paying our fees, the client then achieves a sense of great relief that they now comply with society’s  need to collect tax.

In some cases we have got substantial refunds for clients that cover our fees.