In what has been dubbed “the biggest tax change since GST was introduced in 2000”, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has introduced mandatory payroll reporting.
Taking effect on 1 July, all employers must now report employees’ pay and superannuation details to the ATO through its new one-touch system, Single Touch Payroll (STP).
The introduction of STP has been known about for a year. The message, however, is said to not be getting through to Australia’s small and micro-sized businesses. This is despite the ATO’s campaign to get business owners all around the country prepared for it.
“It is not surprising that these small businesses have been slow to embrace STP as enthusiastically as the ATO had hoped,” said Peter Nawn, CEO of payroll app Easy Payslip.
“This is similar to the introduction of GST, in that complying with new tax rules, contemplating setting up new accounting software, and just the steep learning curve required is far more than an inconvenience for time-poor small business owners.
“It’s an imposition, and requires skills that can be very different to the ones these business owners are trained in or use to serve their customers.
“These businesses see this as another ‘set of hoops’ that they need to jump through, but many are nowhere near ready for it.”
The benefits of STP
Easy Payslip says it supports the ATO’s STP initiative, which will be a “valuable introduction for all stakeholders”.
According to Easy Payslip, the new reporting requirements will provide visibility to employees, employers and authorities on pay and superannuation for all employees across the country.
Employees will have near-real-time access, through MyGov or the ATO online services, says Easy Payslip. This will ensure they are receiving the appropriate entitlements and benefits along with necessary documentation.
Using Easy Payslip
Easy Payslip has been created to make STP compliance a simple process, claims the company.
“This is the first payroll app and website on the market that provides a complete answer to small business’ payroll needs that employers can use anytime, anywhere,” Easy Payslip Operations Director Paul Sharpe said.
“Easy Payslip is a fit-for-purpose product that is easy to use. Once employers spend 10 minutes entering their business and staff information, it produces payslips, manages leave, entitlements, tax and super, then sends STP data back to the ATO to meet its regulatory requirements. This all happens with a few clicks from a desktop, tablet or phone.”
For more about Easy Payslip click here or visit your Android or IOS app stores.
