As part of our new Tax Agent services we are going to provide a series of resources that you can use to help manage your affairs.

Here is a calendar that you can use to keep track of the key lodgement dates for the rest of the financial year. If you have any queries then Craig Ball cball@bentleypartners.com.au 03 9681 3099 – would be more than happy to assist.

Some key things that you should consider in your dealings with the ATO.

- The ATO fines you very heavily for non lodgement. We have seen a real spike in the number of penalty notices that they are issuing. If you have outstanding lodgements then get them up to date asap and then negotiate with them regarding the payments of those items. they will be more favorable if you are fully lodgement compliant.

- The ATO benchmarks your results against that of the industry that you are part of. So basically if you are a plumber they compare key numbers against businesses that they believe are similar. Trying to hide things will catch you out so be honest and you will always have a defensible position.

- The ATO is still offering small business payment plans. They are harder to get, but as long as you meet your requirements you will be able to get a plan that will allow payments over the next 12 months. I do suggest that you use a tax agent for this as we perform these negotiations regularly and know what we can get through. They are being pretty demanding on requirements from small business at the moment and we are seeing a lot of clients getting into arrangements that they cannot meet.

The ATO is like any other creditor. if you are struggling with cash flow then address the issue head on and you will be more likely to get an outcome that you can work with. Put your head in the sand and you will suffer.

You can get your free ATO Key Dates Calendar …..HERE…..