Treasurer’s current statement on Stage 3 tax cuts and Budget
In a recent press conference in Western Australia, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers, stated: “Our position on the tax cuts hasn’t changed. We’ve made it clear in other ways, that we do need to find ways to make the budget more sustainable over time. The very modest but meaningful change that we announced a couple of weeks ago, for example, to superannuation, will make the budget a bit more sustainable over time. But we’ve got those five big pressures on the budget – defence is one of those, this is necessary spending. And we need to make sure that we can find ways to make the budget more sustainable more broadly.”
NSW payroll tax: On-payment of Medicare benefits to practitioners deemed wages
The Court of Appeal of the NSW Supreme Court has dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal and confirmed that the taxpayer, who operated medical centres in Sydney, was liable for payroll tax in relation to Medicare benefits it collected on behalf of its practitioners and which it then on paid to them under the relevant contractual arrangements with the practitioners. In doing so, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the amounts paid by the taxpayer to the medical practitioners were deemed to be “taxable wages” by s 35 of the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW) given the nature of the contractual relationship between the parties and the fact that the payments were made for or in relation to the performance of work. (Thomas and Naaz Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2023] NSWCA 40, 14 March 2023.)
ATO: Do personal services income (PSI) rules apply to you?
The ATO has released information on whether the Personal Services Income (PSI) rules apply to “you”. It states that if over half the income you’ve received from a contract is a reward for your personal efforts or skills (rather than from the use of assets, the sale of goods, or from a business structure), then your income is classified as personal services income (PSI). It further states that you can receive PSI in almost any industry, trade or profession. For example, as a financial professional, IT consultant, construction worker or medical practitioner. The ATO emphasises that if you earn PSI, it’s important to check whether these rules apply to you and that you can self-assess as a PSB if you either: meet the results test for at least 75% of your PSI; or meet one of the other PSB tests and less than 80% of your PSI is from the same entity and its associates.
