CGW Lawyers partner Fletch Heinemann shares some of the critical considerations for businesses engaging contractors with audit activity in this area on this rise.

In this episode, Heinemann discusses two major High Court decisions, Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd and ZG Operations Pty Ltd v Jamsek, and the implications they've had on contractor arrangements.

He also explores how the introduction of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 affects how businesses determine whether workers are employees or contractors.

Heinemann warns businesses on some of the key issues to watch out for when contracting sole traders, including potential payroll tax concerns.

With audit activity from both the ATO and revenue offices in this area on the rise, he also provides insight into how businesses should prepare for a potential audit.

Tax debt specialist Olga Koskie explains why it's not all doom and gloom in relation to payment plans and tax debts despite a shift in the ATO's approach.

In this latest episode, Tax Assure director and principal Olga Koskie shares what she's currently seeing in practice in terms of the ATO's approach to tax debts and the types of terms it is willing to agree to with payment plans.

While the ATO is now firmly back in active collection mode, Koskie says it is still possible for businesses with tax debts to obtain affordable and sustainable payment plans.

She sheds light on the factors the ATO is looking at when considering when to grant payment plans and what is likely to lead to a more favourable outcome.

Koskie also explains what initial steps businesses with these debts should be taking and how they may need to structure their arrangements based on their specific circumstances, such as projected cash flow.

Heather Smith and Tyler Caskey delve into the latest features, integrations and developments across QuickBooks, MYOB and Xero over April and May.

Accounting app specialist Heather Smith and technology enthusiast and partner at The Bean Counters, Tyler Caskey, share their thoughts on some of the recent updates across accounting apps in the past two months.

They chat about the release of several new features by QuickBooks including the spreadsheets sync feature and the release of the fixed asset register and some recent integrations on the platform.

They also touch on some of the big announcements in the space including Xero's decision to retire Planday and changes with its pricing plans.

Smith and Caskey also highlight some of the other useful features launched across practice management and business management software platforms recently.