Seminar highlights visa and LAFHA issues for temporary residents

July 2012

Bates Cosgrave's Matt Zhou joined a panel of industry experts last week to provide insight into how recently announced changes to LAFHA may impact employers who employ temporary residents in their business.

Business owners from the HR consultant and labour hire sector are keen to hear about the opportunities, issues and tax concerns related to employing temporary residents in their business.

 

The panel included migration experts QuickVisas, Carman & Associates and Skilled Migrant Jobs, and the presentations covered a range of topics such as the impact of the Skill Select model as well as changes to employer nominated visas, LAFHA and taxation of non-residents.
 
Matt Zhou took to the stage to talk about proposed measures that will impact the  Living Away from Home Allowance.
 
"There are some aspects of LAFHA that won't change, however the requirement to maintain an Australian residence while living away from that home is a big change to the current scheme," said Matt.
 
Originally scheduled to apply from 1 July, these measures are yet to be passed by the Government, but are likely to be in place by 1 October 2012 with very limited transitional measure in place.

"There might be a growing trend that temporary residents apply for permanent resident status. Whilst this may represent a one off tax efficient salary packaging opportunity for relocation, it will draw the individual's overseas assets into Australian tax net so tax planning is extremely important before taking such a step."

For more information about LAFHA, please contact Matt on 02 9957 4033 or send us an enquiry.

 

Want to keep up to date with tax news for small business? Follow batescosgraveCA on Linkedin, Google+ or Twitter

Last updated July 2012. This article is provided for information purposes only and should not be used in place of advice from your accountant. Please contact us on 02 9957 4033 to discuss your specific circumstances.