These emails are designed for those investing into Australia and those who have plans to do so. We aim to keep the points short and sweet, and to merely list snippets of relevant but easy to read information.
June 2021
- An employer is required to pay an eligible employee compulsory retirement contributions, known as ‘superannuation guarantee (SG)’. From 01 July 2021 the rate will increase to 10%. Superannuation is legally required to be paid at least quarterly.
- According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates, the Australian population increases by one person every 1 minute and 43 seconds.
- The Australian GST system was introduced in 2000 and is modelled on the European VAT system. The rate is 10%, with few exceptions, and with no other rates. The threshold is AUD 75,000.
- The term ABN stands for Australian Business Number. It is an eleven-digit number that businesses must obtain in order to do business in Australia.
- The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is primarily responsible for ensuring that individuals and businesses comply with Australian competition, fair trading and consumer protection laws.
- From 01 July 2021, the corporate tax rate for companies that are base rate entities (BRE) is 25%. For all companies which are not base rate entities, the tax rate is 30%. A company is deemed to be a base rate entity if it satisfies one of the following: its aggregated turnover in the previous income year was less than $50 million, and 80% or less of its assessable income was base rate entity passive income, OR the entity didn’t exist in the previous income year.
- The head of the government of a State is a Premier, the head of the government in a Territory is a Chief Minister and the head of the Federal Government is a Prime Minister.
- Australia’s corporation law requires all public companies (‘Limited’ or ‘Ltd’) to appoint a company secretary, however private companies (known as ‘Pty Ltd’) are not subject to the same requirement.
- Australia does not impose dividend withholding tax on distributions from profits which have been subject to normal Australian company tax.
- Australia has three levels of government, Federal, State and Local government. Federal is responsible for income tax, GST and immigration among many other areas. State is responsible for taxes such as payroll, stamp duty, property and a variety of other obscure taxes and duties. Local generates revenue via other means but has no ability to levy taxes of any type.
This message is not given in the form of an opinion, legal opinion or tax advice. If any of the information provided is of interest or relevance to you or your company we would strongly recommend you contact us or another qualified professional for specific advice.