The release of the remainder of the national suite of payroll tax reporting forms will further simplify compliance reporting for Australian businesses who use Standard Business Reporting (SBR) from July 1.
"SBR has moved one step closer to implementation with the completion of the national suite of payroll tax reporting forms. This release is a significant milestone as it is the first national harmonised set of reporting definitions across all eight jurisdictions," the Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, Chris Bowen said today.
"This will enable Australian businesses to submit payroll tax reports to state and territory governments using a standardised reporting language. This will be of particular benefit to the many businesses that operate across state and territory borders, standardising the reporting information required across the various jurisdictions, enabling the reporting to be built into businesses payroll systems.
"From 1 July 2010, business will be able to realise the benefits of using SBR-enabled software to send information directly to government agencies, including the ATO, ASIC and all eight state and territory revenue offices."
SBR will target common business reports such as the Business Activity Statement, Tax File Number Declarations, PAYG payment summaries, payroll tax returns and financial statements.
SBR has the potential to save business time and money, by removing unnecessary or duplicated information from current government forms and will provide a single secure online sign-on credential - AUSkey.
Changes to regulations that impact on reporting requirements will be updated in the underlying SBR technology, and will provide certainty that reports have been completed in line with current regulations.
With SBR, reporting requirements will be clearer and more consistently defined across government agencies and forms, making it easier for businesses to understand reporting obligations.
By streamlining the reporting process SBR frees up businesses and reporting professionals to focus on the bottom line.
30 March 2010