Scams & Scammers

Over the last couple of years there are unfortunately more Scams and Scammers out there.  Stay alert to phone and email scams especially with the ATO.

For more information –  Scams and Scammers

How to set up your Director ID

To all Directors, you may be aware, ASIC has recently announced that all Company Directors will be required to obtain a Director Identification Number as required by the Treasury Laws Amendment Act 2020.

With applications commencing November 2021, we’ve prepared a client guide to help you with FAQs including:

• What is a director ID? 
• Who needs a director ID? 
• Timeframes for registration 
• How to set up a director ID?  
• Foreign directors and the director ID system  
• Directors in name only 

For more, How to set up your Director ID

We are here to help
If you have any questions or would like assistance regarding the Director ID requirements, please be sure to contact your advisor at PrimeAdvisory or call us on 02 9415 1511.

Divorce, Superannuation, and the Gender Divide

From 1 April 2022, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be able to release details of an individual’s superannuation information to a family law court.

The recently enacted laws are designed to ensure that there is procedural and economic fairness in divorce proceedings to prevent the under-reporting of superannuation assets. While a spouse’s superannuation information can be obtained now through legal action, if it is not provided willingly, it is often expensive and time-consuming to obtain factual information through subpoenas or court orders.

From April 2022, when a couple has entered into divorce proceedings, if one of the parties believes the other is not being forthcoming about the value of assets held in superannuation, they can apply to a family law court registry to request their former partner’s superannuation information held by the ATO. They will then be able to seek up-to-date superannuation information from their former partner’s superannuation fund.

For more, Divorce, Superannuation, and the Gender Divide

ATO Doubles Rental Deduction Audits

In the 2017-18 financial year, more than 2.2 million Australians claimed over $47 billon in deductions and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) thinks that is too much – one in ten is estimated to contain errors.

4,500 audits of rental property deductions will be undertaken this year with the focus on over-claimed interest, capital works claimed as repairs, incorrect apportionment of expenses for holiday homes let out to others, and omitted income from accommodation sharing. Deliberate cases of over-claiming are treated harshly with penalties of up to 75% of the claim.  In one case exposed by the ATO, a taxpayer had to pay back $12,000 in claims for deductions against a holiday home that was not genuinely available for rent and was blocked out during the holiday season. In another, a taxpayer paid back $5,500 because they had not apportioned their rental interest deduction to account for redraws on their investment loan to pay for living expenses.

Please contact us you have any concerns about an ATO audit or wish to discuss your deductions.

Warning on ATO and Medicare scams

Recently we’ve been contacted by a number of clients who have received suspicious calls and messages from people claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Medicare.  It’s important that you are aware of some recent scams.

Tax scams

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned about the emergence of a scam where “…scammers are using an ATO number to send fraudulent SMS messages to taxpayers asking them to click on a link and hand over their personal details in order to obtain a refund.”

The refund scam follows a more sinister four phase scam stating there is a warrant out for your arrest for unpaid taxes in prior years. The scam starts with a text message purportedly from the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Within minutes, your mobile rings and the caller identifies themselves as being from the AFP and working with the ATO. They then ask for your accountant’s details. You then receive a call purportedly from your ‘accounting firm’ asking you to verify the AFP/ATO claims. Finally, you are provided with a way, if you act quickly, to make the AFP go away by paying a fee before your ‘imminent arrest’.

The ATO states that it will not:

• Send you an email or SMS asking you to click on a link to provide login, personal or financial information, or to download a file or open an attachment.
• Use aggressive or rude behaviour, or threaten you with arrest, jail or deportation.
• Request payment of a debt via iTunes or Google Play cards, pre-paid Visa cards, cryptocurrency or direct credit to a personal bank account, or
• Request a fee in order to release a refund owed to you.

Medicare Scam

A new phishing scam sent text messages purportedly from Medicare advising the recipient that they are owed a $200 rebate from Medicare. Once the person clicks on the reclaim link, they are asked to provide their personal details including bank account details for the ‘rebate.’

If you are uncertain about any suspicious messages please contact the registered office of the “sender” or alternatively speak with your accountant or advisor.