The Government announced a number of measures in the 2011-2012 budget that will impact SMEs and their employees. An outline of these is provided below. It is, however, important to note they have not yet been passed into law and are subject to change.
Minimum pensions
During the global financial crisis the government reduced the minimum pension required to be drawn down for account-based, allocated and market linked pensions. This relief will be reduced by 25 per cent for 2011-12 and phased out in 2012-13.
Low income tax offset for minors
From 1 July 2011 minors receiving non-work income, such as dividends, interest or family trust distributions, will not be entitled to the low income tax offset. This will reduce their tax free threshold to $416.
Accelerated depreciation for small business enterprises
Any motor vehicle purchased from 2012-13 will be eligible for an instant tax write-off for the first $5,000 of its purchase price. The remainder of the purchase value is then depreciated. Depreciating assets acquired from 2013, valued under $5,000 will be able to be written off immediately.
Log books may help reduce FBT
The 2011 Federal budget also announced changes to the calculation of FBT on motor vehicles. The FBT payable will increase if an employer provided car travels over 25,000 kilometres in the FBT year. The table included here provides a concise breakdown of the current and proposed FBT rates based on kilometres travelled.