Last week, the government made two significant STP announcements.
The announcement included measures to:
- Require superannuation funds to report contributions received more frequently, at least monthly, to the ATO. This will enable the ATO to identify non-compliance and take prompt action;
- Bring payroll reporting into the 21st century through the rollout of Single Touch Payroll (STP). Employers with 20 or more employees will transition to STP from 1 July 2018 with smaller employers coming on board from 1 July 2019. This will reduce the regulatory burden on business and transform compliance by aligning payroll functions with regular reporting of taxation and superannuation obligations;
Breakdown
Businesses with less than 20 employees will be required to report through STP from July 2019. This will need to be passed through parliament.
A significant part of the package is the requirement for superannuation funds to report at least monthly to the ATO. One of the most controversial points of discussion in Single Touch Payroll circles has been the reporting of Superannuation.
Part of the STP legislation required employers to provide two levels of superannuation reporting.
- The superannuation amounts calculated at each pay run.
- When the actual payment of the superannuation was made to the funds.
As per the press release, the superannuation funds will now be regularly notifying the ATO when the money is received into the member’s account. The end result is that the ATO gets a view of both ends of the equation – when money is promised and then matches this to see when it arrives at the Fund.