THE parliamentary inquiry into activating trade with Pacific Island countries will hear tomorrow from an ANU economist and also a Tasmanian power services company providing renewable energy across the Pacific.

The Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hear evidence from the director of the Development Policy Centre at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Professor Stephen Howes, followed by a video-conference with representatives of power company Entura discussing their projects in the Pacific.

Sub-Committee Chair John McVeigh has reminded people with an interest in this issue that submissions to the inquiry are open until June 30.

A full program for the hearing, as well as submissions to the inquiry, are available on the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 18 June, 2020
Time: 9.45am to 11.20am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be streamed online at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is advising people to act now to improve their tax time experience.

There are some simple things taxpayers can do now to ensure they can lodge their tax return quickly, securely, and smoothly.

Assistant Commissioner Karen Foat said, "If you are planning on lodging your own return, you can’t beat the ease and accessibility of the ATO’s online myTax service. It has almost completely replaced paper lodgments.

“It’s no surprise that myTax, which processes most refunds in less than two weeks and many in under a week, is growing in popularity. Most people with simple tax affairs can lodge in under half-an-hour from the comfort of their own homes. For most people a lot of their income will be automatically included in their return by the end of July, making it even easier.

“But there are two main speed-bumps that taxpayers hit when lodging online via myTax for the first time. The first is linking their myGov account to the ATO’s online services.”

Avoid Speedbump 1: Link myGov to the ATO now if you plan to do your own return

“My number one piece of advice for people who are going to use myTax for the first time is to log into your myGov account and link to the ATO well before tax time. You’ll be prompted to answer two questions, based on your records, such as an income statement or Centrelink payment summary from the past two years, or your bank account details,” Ms Foat said.

Those who don't have enough information to confirm their identity will need to phone the ATO to get a unique linking code, which can be entered instead of answering the questions. To speed up the process, taxpayers need to have their identification information ready when they call the ATO, such as their Tax File Number and their driver's licence, or Medicare card.

“Needing a linking code was the number one reason that people called us last July. While this is a vote of confidence from taxpayers eager to use myTax, it is a faster process if you get organised early,” Ms Foat said.

“If you need to call us to link, we encourage you to do so now so that you don’t hit any delays when you choose to lodge your tax return. If you need a linking code, June is a great time to get that sorted.”

After people have linked to the ATO, they can not only lodge their tax returns during tax time, but also track their refunds, access their past tax records, manage their super accounts, and view their income statement.

Avoid Speedbump 2: Make sure your income details are complete and finalised before you lodge

“The other main delay at tax time is people lodging before they have all of the information about their income,” Ms Foat said.

For most Australians, income statements have replaced payment summaries. This means that instead of receiving a payment summary from their employer, most people’s income statements will be finalised electronically, and the information provided directly to the ATO. You can view your income statement through myGov and the information from it is automatically included in your return in myTax by the ATO. If you use a tax agent, they will also have access to this information.

Income statements show their year-to-date salary and wages, PAYG withholding tax, and any employer super contributions in near real-time, but it is important to wait until it is finalised before lodging a tax return. Employers have until July 31 to finalise income statements.

“We often see people too eager to get a tax refund making obvious mistakes, which can either delay processing the tax return or result in a bill later on,” Ms Foat said.

“It’s important to check that your employer has finalised the information in your income statement and it is marked as ‘tax ready’ before you lodge.

“Other information from banks, health funds and government agencies will also be automatically inserted into your tax return. For most people this will happen by the end of July.

“Lodging once we have included all of your information in your tax return makes it even easier, but if you are lodging before then, make sure the information provided is complete, accurate, and up to date to avoid delays or a debt later on,” Ms Foat said.

For more information visit:

>      Setting up your myGov account

>      Link your myGov account to ATO online services

>      Accessing your payment summary

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THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will welcome the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) and Outback stores who will be appearing together at the second public hearing for the inquiry into food prices and food security in remote communities.

Committee Chair Julian Leeser MP said that this would be an important opportunity for the committee to discuss the operations of remote community stores located across the NT, WA and SA with both Outback Stores and the NIAA.

"Outback Stores are supporting about 40 remote stores and we look forward to discussing the management and governance of these businesses and how this contributes to a secure supply of affordable and healthy food for their communities," Mr Lesser said.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 18 June 2020
Time: 11.35am to 12.20pm

A full program will be available at the inquiry website.

Due to social distancing requirements at Parliament House, members of the public will not be permitted to attend the hearing. An audio broadcast will be accessible at aph.gov.au/live.

For more information about this inquiry, including its terms of reference, details of upcoming public hearings, and instructions on making a submission, visit the Committee’s webpage.

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and its exploration focused member organisation the Queensland Exploration Council (QEC) will encourage members and the wider community of minerals exploration companies across Queensland to take advantage of the Queensland Government’s latest round of exploration grants announced today as part of a COVID-19 recovery package.

The QRC and QEC are pleased to see the government’s recognition of Queensland’s exploration industry has resulted in the largest pool of grants ever offered by the Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI).

Chair of the QEC, Kim Wainwright said the government’s announcement today was welcome news for an industry that had experienced significant hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Explorers across Queensland have been hurting for some months now, many were shut out of the JobKeeper payment subsidy, and finally we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” Ms Wainwright said.

“Feedback from industry bodies like the QRC, QEC and from explorers themselves have been heard.

“Today’s $10 million top up in explorer grants is a great start,” Ms Wainwright said.

In addition to the increased explorer funding pool on offer, the Queensland Government has announced the CEI will extend to mineral exploration regions outside of the North-West Minerals Province.

“Opening up funding for mineral projects state-wide is the next step forward to unearthing Queensland’s plentiful supply of new economy minerals such as gold, titanium, cobalt and bauxite,” Ms Wainwright said.

“The regional development benefits for local communities like those located in North Queensland as far as the Wide Bay Burnett region will have only positive flow-on effects of more jobs, infrastructure and upskilling the local workforce through the industry’s supply chain.

“The previous CEI round in the past month has received the highest number of applications on record. I predict even higher levels of interest now that more funding is available to our explorers. I wish them all the best of luck in accelerating new exploration in Queensland,” Ms Wainwright said.

www.queenslandexploration.com.au

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