New rules have been set out by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for Australians who are the directors of companies and now have less than two weeks to take action to avoid a big fine of $13,000.

The Australian directors of companies covered by the Corporations Act now need to have a director identification number (director ID). Meanwhile the ATO has said that a grace period will apply for those who apply for the director ID before December 14.

According to the policy-executing body, the Australian Business Registration Service (ABRS), 1.8 million company directors have already applied for a director ID. However, about 700,000 directors still yet applied.

The Director ID is a unique 15-digital number aimed to deter illegal schemes such as phoenix activity.

Who needs to apply?

The rules apply to all directors in Australia in the structure of companies, self-managed superannuation fund with corporate trustee, charities and not-for-profit entities. If you are operating your business as a sole trader or partnership, you do not need to apply for this identification number.

You can apply online through the ABRS website. Once completed, you will be issued with a Director ID instantly.

How to apply

Prior to applying for a Director ID online, you will need a myGovID with minimum a standard strength of identity.

You will need your myGovID to apply for a Director ID online by logging into the ABRS website.

If you are unable to register a myGovID with standard strength or above of identity, how you apply will be up to where you reside. If you currently reside in Australia and are unable to apply online, please call the ABRS to apply for a director ID. If you currently reside outside of Australia and are unable to apply online, you can use the Director Identification Number paper application form (NAT 75433, PDF 651KB) to apply. However, in the meanwhile, you must provide a certified copy of your identification documents.

If you are not sure whether you need to apply, you can find out by checking the ABRS website or by contacting us.

The ABRS states that you need to apply for a director ID in your own name and verify your identity so generally speaking, we as tax agents cannot make the application on your behalf.

Should you please have any question in regards to above, please feel free to contact our friendly team in Pitt Martin Tax at 0292213345 our info@pittmartingroup.com.au.

The material and contents provided in this publication are informative in nature only.  It is not intended to be advice and you should not act specifically on the basis of this information alone.  If expert assistance is required, professional advice should be obtained.

Robert Liu CPA RTA MPA

Experienced Tax Accountant and Business Advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the accounting industry. Skilled in Tax, Accounting, Business Advisory and SMSF. Strong entrepreneurship professional with qualification Master of Professional Accounting, CPA Public Practice, Registered Tax Agent, Registered ASIC Agent, NSW Law Society External Examiner, Trust Account Auditor and Diploma of Finanical Planning. Specialised in SME, tax planning and international tax, he helped client save ample money and create wealth.

目前，政府正在计划重新启用养老金保障(SG)特赦，给予那些未能履行支付养老金义务的雇主一个“自我纠正”的机会。这一次，政府决心将对那些没有采取任何行动的人施以严厉惩罚。

这项特赦令最初是在2018年5月宣布的，从2018年5月24日持续到2019年5月23日。由于一些人认为特赦令对那些知错不改的雇主太过宽容，结果他们的反对导致了特赦令未能在议会获得通过。

据政府报道，自最初的公告以来，已有7000多名雇主主动承认了还有一些拖欠的养老金没有支付给员工。据估计，那些延迟或还未支付的养老金总额估计约为28.5亿澳元。

特赦什么时候生效?

允许特赦的立法目前正在议会审议中，如果获得通过，将从最初宣布特赦的2018年5月24日起生效，直到立法在议会通过之后的6个月。在此期间，雇主须主动向税局披露少付或未付的养老金款项。

这项特赦适用于2018年3月之前的任何时期，无论是少付或未支付的养老金。

如何获得特赦的资格

为了有资格获得特赦，雇主必须向税局披露尚未缴纳的养老金。您可以支付全部欠款，或者如果企业不能支付全部欠款，您可以与ATO签订付款计划。如果您同意一个付款计划，但不能按时按量付款，特赦将不再适用。

请记住，特赦只适用于“自愿”披露。ATO将在赦免期间继续它的监查活动，如果一旦他们先发现有少付或未付养老金的现象，将做全额罚款。特赦也不适用于已经被查到为拖欠养老金或正在被税局审计中的雇主。

雇主在没有特赦下或特赦下分别要付多少钱?

通常情况下，如果雇主不能按时支付员工的养老金，他们会被惩罚性的要求支付养老金费用(SGC)并提交一份养老金保证书。即使您在截至期限后不久支付了未付的养老金, 您也需要支付养老金费用。

在季度支付养老金的情况下，利息部分是根据雇主在相关季度的第一天至支付养老金费用当日的差额计算的(而非从养老金支付逾期之日起)。

对于那些没有尽到养老金义务的雇主来说，特赦如果使养老金费用和罚款都能抵税，那是非常好的一件事情。

如果养老金被延迟支付，立法中有特别的规定，自动保护员工，以防止因为未支付的养老金被支付给税局，然后转移到员工的养老金，而导致超过养老金优惠税率上限的限制。如果雇主将养老金直接存入雇员的养老基金，雇员需要向税局提出申请，要求行使酌情权，忽略养老金优惠税率上限，或将其分配到另一个财政年度。

如果您不利用特赦会发生什么?

如果雇主未能利用这一特赦，并被发现有少付了雇员的养老金，他们必须向税局支付养老金费用包括最高200%的罚款。在赦免期之外，税局有权全部或部分地减少处罚。然而，允许特赦的立法对雇主施加了更严厉的惩罚，如果雇主不自愿纠正少付或未支付的养老金，就会取消税局将这些处罚降低至100%以下的资格。实际上，以上情况如发生，即使在雇主确实犯了无心的错误的情况下，税局专员也失去了宽大处理的权力。

新政策下我们将如何面对呢?

即使您不认为您的企业存在养老金支付不足的问题，也有必要进行薪资审计，以确保您的养老金计算是正确的，而且员工的养老金水平符合工作法和相关规定。

特赦有效期间如果您有使用过任何ABN的合同工, 需要审查的是这些合同工是否是养老金法下定义的普通工人，即使双方有生意合同已经同意对方应该被视为ABN的合同工。换句话来说，简单地用一份生意合同是不能够解除作为雇主的养老金的义务。

如果发现了问题，您可以根据特赦法纠正它，而不用支付过多的惩罚。如果您不确定员工的养老金和工资标准，FairWork申诉部门的网站上有一个薪资计算器，您可以在线联系他们或拨打131394。

如果您的企业未能履行养老金义务，并有资格获得特赦，您需要现在就开始着手解决问题，或联系我们为您解决。

皮特马丁会计师事务所 Pitt Martin 是一家提供税务，会计，生意咨询, 自管养老金及审计等综合性服务的经澳洲会计师公会认证的注册会计师事务所。我们每年会花上几百个小时去研究新的税法，以保证我们的客户可以最大化合理避税。我们的中文联系方式是 Robert Liu +61292213345 或邮件 robert@pittmartingroup.com.au。皮特马丁会计师事务所Pitt Martin 坐落在交通便利的悉尼市市中心，是一家拥有可以说中文合伙人的会计师事务所。

本文内容仅供参考，不构成对任何个人或团体的具体情况而形成建议。任何个人或团体应该在征求专业人士的意见后方可采取行动。由于税法的时效性，我们在发布时已致力于提供及时、准确的信息，但不能保证所称述的内容在今后任然可以适用。转发该文内容请注明出处。

Robert Liu CPA RTA MPA

Experienced Tax Accountant and Business Advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the accounting industry. Skilled in Tax, Accounting, Business Advisory and SMSF. Strong entrepreneurship professional with qualification Master of Professional Accounting, CPA Public Practice, Registered Tax Agent, Registered ASIC Agent, NSW Law Society External Examiner, Trust Account Auditor and Diploma of Finanical Planning. Specialised in SME, tax planning and international tax, he helped client save ample money and create wealth.