ATO will not penalise honest tax mistakes
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are reviewing their approach to penalties and will potentially "let off" first-time inaccurate tax returns from individuals and businesses.
The ATO announced that it would not receive an automatic penalty, meaning inadvertent mistakes are able to be overlooked.
According to H&R Block, under the current regime many businesses and individuals make accidental mistakes.
While the ATO is set to be more lenient on time penalties, there will still be a penalty for dishonesty.
"The ATO will no longer automatically impose a penalty on individuals and small businesses who lodge their income tax return of BAS [business activity statement] late," H&R Block said.
"After a defined period of time — say three or four years — the clock will be reset and taxpayers will get ‘one chance' again."
Recommended for you
Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the QAR reforms.
ASIC now has a 1:1 ratio when it comes to court success in the enforcement of crypto activities and more action is expected as Treasury seeks to introduce a regulatory framework.
A leading governance body has hit out at “specialist interest groups proposing ad hoc law reform” when it comes to reforms of financial services legislation and believes an independent body is needed.
The release of ALRC’s final report into financial services legislation has highlighted financial advice as a “significant” focus as it seeks to reduce costs and help advisers understand their obligations, alongside the Quality of Advice Review.
