The Australian Treasury has announced a public consultation on a draft legislation entitled “Treasury Laws Amendment Bill: Self-amendments by small and medium businesses” on 26 July, 2024. The consultation is set to conclude on 9 August, 2024.
The draft bill amends tax law by extending the period for small and medium businesses to self-amend returns from two to four years.
In the 2023–24 Budget, the government announced the small business package “Driving Collaboration with Small Business to Reduce the Time Spent Complying with Tax Obligations”, which delivers reforms to cut paperwork and reduce the time small businesses spend doing taxes.
The Treasury is seeking views from interested parties on the draft legislative amendments and explanatory materials to implement one component of this package – allowing small and medium businesses up to four years to request amendments to their tax assessments.
This change will reduce the administrative costs of amendments on small and medium businesses by delaying their engagement with the burdensome amendment process currently required when the existing two‑year self-amendment period expires.
