THERE is confusion in many areas of the GST. Here, CPA Australia answers some questions as to how the GST applies to a range of business issues.
If you elect to group companies for GST purposes, will only the representative group member be required to complete a Business Activity Statement?
No. All members of the GST group will receive activity statements to complete.
If you are member of a GST group, it means that the representative group member is responsible for reporting and paying the GST obligations of the entire group. This means that the representative group member will report the group’s GST liability in the GST portion of its Business Activity Statement.
Accordingly, the other group members will not be required to complete the GST portion of their activity statements. However, each group member is required to complete a separate activity statement to report and pay their other tax obligations, such as PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments and fringe benefits tax instalments.
The first Business Activity Statement for quarterly GST remitters is due on November 11, which is a Saturday. Can I lodge my activity statement on the following Monday instead?
If you are lodging a paper-based activity statement it must reach the tax office by November 10. If your activity statement does not reach the tax office until the following Monday then you will potentially be liable for late lodgment penalties. Taxpayers electing to lodge electronically need to do so by midnight on the due date.