10 Inquiries to Ask Your Lawyer Earlier than EOFY 2023
5 min read
Because the monetary 12 months wraps up, it’s the proper alternative to step out of the day-to-day grind and set your small business up for future success.
Through the finish of economic 12 months (EOFY), the insights and steering from a lawyer can show invaluable. They may help interpret upcoming legislative adjustments, deal with compliance issues, and help with maximising returns. As we edge nearer to wrapping up FY23, listed here are 10 essential inquiries to ask your lawyer, making certain your small business is well-prepared and legally resilient for the brand new monetary 12 months.
1. What impression will current authorized adjustments have on my enterprise?
This month, sweeping amendments to Australia’s industrial relations panorama are being ushered in because of the passing of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay invoice final 12 months. Ranging from June 6, Australian workplaces must adapt to new multi-employer bargaining guidelines, revised versatile working provisions, and modifications to pay secrecy clauses.
Key adjustments it’s best to discover together with your lawyer embrace:
- Growth of multi-employer bargaining: The lately named cooperative workplaces bargaining stream will facilitate a number of workplaces to consolidate beneath a single settlement.
- Modifications to the Higher Off General Take a look at (BOOT): The BOOT, which gauges if employees will profit from higher situations beneath a brand new enterprise settlement in comparison with an underlying fashionable award, will probably be revised for enterprise agreements made on or after June 6.
- Versatile working preparations: Enhancements to the Honest Work Act will broaden and strengthen entry to versatile work preparations for long-term employees. You possibly can learn extra about these adjustments in our complete information.
- ‘Zombie’ agreements: To modernise working situations, ‘zombie’ agreements — outdated office agreements initiated earlier than 2010 — will mechanically terminate on December 7 this 12 months.
- Pay secrecy guidelines: The Safe Jobs, Higher Pay Act will curb pay secrecy clauses that stop staff from discussing their wages with others.
These adjustments may considerably impression your small business operations, making it important to seek the advice of together with your authorized counsel to know their implications and make sure you’re adequately ready.
2. Is now the best time to alter enterprise constructions?
The top of the monetary 12 months offers an excellent alternative to reassess your small business construction. It could possibly be the proper time to register an organization in case your present enterprise construction’s drawbacks – like greater particular person tax charges and monetary legal responsibility – outweigh its advantages.
3. What can I declare?
Because the monetary 12 months wraps up, it’s best to take into account methods to maximise your deductions. There are few additional incentives to contemplate earlier than 30 June:
Varied services and products are tax-deductible, together with charges for accounting, bookkeeping, and authorized companies. You possibly can even declare a deduction for our authorized plans.
4. What does the Funds imply for my enterprise?
The lately launched 2023 Federal Budget says quite a bit concerning the Authorities’s plans for Australia’s financial restoration. Notably, the precedence is to get Australians in jobs and ease the burden on companies. Some bulletins within the Funds you would possibly wish to ask your lawyer about are:
- A $23.4 million funding in constructing resilience to cybersecurity threats for small companies
- An estimated a million eligible small companies to have $325 deducted from their energy payments
- Help for small enterprises to undertake synthetic intelligence applied sciences to enhance enterprise processes and enhance competitiveness
- A lodgement penalty amnesty program for small companies with mixture turnover of lower than $10 million to encourage them to re-engage with the tax system
- A halving of the rise in quarterly tax instalments for GST and revenue tax in 2023–24. Instalments will solely enhance by 6 per cent as an alternative of 12 per cent
5. How can I get well cash owed to my enterprise?
Having money owed owed to you will be irritating, particularly if you’re attempting to stability the books for EOFY. Your lawyer can advise on the right course of to observe to get well a debt, from issuing a letter of demand to lodging a declare in Court docket.
6. How do I handle worker pay will increase?
The top of the monetary 12 months is a typical time for workers to hunt wage will increase. Seek the advice of together with your authorized staff to plan a method that may both will let you meet their request or counsel various compensations, making certain you stay aggressive within the upcoming monetary 12 months.
7. What tax errors will the ATO be cracking down on this 12 months?
The ATO yearly discloses frequent tax errors they intend to scrutinize. Familiarize your self with these, in addition to any key adjustments to tax insurance policies, to keep away from potential issues. This 12 months, the ATO is anticipated to focus on:
- Correct record-keeping
- Claims associated to work-from-home bills
- Reporting of capital positive factors or losses from cryptocurrency buying and selling
- Secondary revenue or income streams (“aspect hustles”) that haven’t been reported
- Double-dipping tax deductions
Seek the advice of together with your authorized counsel to make sure you’re compliant with all rules and decrease the chance of misunderstandings with the ATO.
8. How far forward ought to I plan?
Planning forward is all the time good, however you don’t wish to plan thus far into the longer term which you can’t adapt to altering circumstances. Your lawyer can advise on how far forward it’s best to plan your budgets and account for bills equivalent to tax, salaries and basic administration.
9. What’s one of the best ways to take care of my data?
Correct document maintaining goes a great distance relating to EOFY. Your lawyer can present some suggestions on how your books ought to look all 12 months spherical, and how one can keep them.
In search of a solution to handle your entire authorized paperwork in a single place? Take a look at our authorized plans to entry and handle your paperwork at any time, from any system.
10. Are there any adjustments to tax legal guidelines I ought to pay attention to?
Tax legal guidelines have a tendency to alter pretty continuously, significantly in mild of the pandemic. It’s value checking together with your lawyer whether or not there are any updates that may impression your small business.
