ATO appeals to High Court in the Bendel Case decision The Australian Taxation Office ( ATO ) has now applied to the High Court for special leave to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15. Last month, we released a Tax Alert ( see here ) after the Federal Court delivered their unanimous decision that an unpaid present entitlement (or UPE ) owed by a discretionary trust to a corporate beneficiary is not a “loan” for Division 7A purposes. The ATO has also issued an Interim Decision Impact Statement ( DIS ) in response to the Full Federal Court decision. A DIS provides information for taxpayers and advisers, and includes: details of the case, a brief summary of facts, issues decided by the court or tribunal, and relevant legislation and case law.

External audit is often considered to be ‘just a compliance exercise’, however while these financial statements audits are often required to meet legal obligations, they can provide significant value beyond ticking a regulatory box. An important question is to consider why you are having an audit: Is it required by legislation / constituting documents? Have your suppliers / customers / funders requested one? Board / Management has chosen to have an audit for good governance practices. The reason for your audit can shape what you need from your auditor. Look for an auditor with industry experience and if you are a not-for-profit or small business entity then experience in that sector is critical. An external auditor should not only understand your organisation’s unique challenges but also bring insights in relation to financial risks in your industry and best practice improvements. Remember an external auditor needs to be independent so be careful about using someone with a particular relationship with the entity even if they do offer to do the work for a cheap price. An external doesn’t just identify material errors; they offer practical advice for improving financial management and help foster a culture of transparency and accountability. An effective audit can strengthen internal operations and bolster the confidence of donors, investors, and regulators in your organisation’s financial health. If you don’t need a financial statement audit, then consider using an auditor to perform work on specific areas to provide detailed recommendations and provide an opinion on accuracy over key systems. This work is equivalent to an internal audit project where the auditor does not need to be independent and can agree the scope with management, this could cover financial and non-financial areas such as payroll, purchasing system, compliance with specific standards (e.g. child safety, health and safety, privacy).

How to master employer obligations in 2025 Taxpayers who employ staff should remember the following important dates and obligations: Fringe benefits tax (FBT) 31 March 2025 marks the end of the 2024-25 FBT year. Employers should remember the following regarding their FBT tax time obligations. They should identify if they have provided a fringe benefit. If they have, they should determine the taxable value to work out if they have an FBT liability. They should lodge an FBT return and pay any FBT owed by 21 May 2025. If their registered tax agent lodges electronically for them, they have until 25 June 2025. They should keep the right records to support their FBT position. Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding Taxpayers need to withhold the right amount of tax from payments they make to their employees and other payees, and pay those amounts to the ATO. Single touch payroll (STP) Employers should finalise their STP data by 14 July 2025 for the 2024/25 financial year (there may be a later due date for any closely held payees). Super guarantee (SG) 28 January, 28 April, 28 July and 28 October are the quarterly due dates for making SG payments The SG rate is currently 11.5% of an employee's ordinary time earnings. From 1 July 2025, it will increase to 12.0%. Taxpayers should ensure SG for their eligible employees is paid in full, on time and to the right super fund, otherwise they will be liable for the SG charge.

2025 FBT Year End is Fast Approaching! The end of the Fringe Benefits Tax ( FBT ) year is fast approaching on 31 March 2025, so we take this opportunity to revisit some hot FBT topics for both employers and employees, including: FBT exemption for electric cars Providing equipment to work from home Does FBT apply to your contractors? Reducing the FBT record keeping burden Mismatched claims for entertainment Employee contributions by journal entry Not lodging FBT returns FBT housekeeping

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) recently concluded its Post-Implementation Review (PIR) of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This is relevant in Australia since we have adopted this standard as AASB 15. The PIR overall conclusion is that the five-step model has improved comparability in financial reporting and is generally well understood by stakeholders. However, the review highlighted some areas that still pose challenges for certain sectors, particularly with complex contracts, variable consideration, and the balance between principles-based guidance and specific application issues. Regardless of these areas, there are no major amendments to IFRS 15 expected, but the IASB will continue to monitor areas where further clarification could help entities better apply the standard. We continue to see clients who have not fully understood the requirements of AASB 15 and therefore we encourage regular reviews of sales contract against the requirements of the standard to ensure appropriate revenue recognition methodology is being applied.  For our not-for-profit clients, the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) PIR of AASB 1058 Income of NFP Entities and the interaction with AASB 15 is still ongoing, however we are not expecting to see any significant amendments arising from this project.