ARTICLE · 24 MARCH 2009

Payroll Tax Penalty Amnesty Until 30 April 2009

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The Queensland Commissioner of State Revenue has offered a penalty amnesty for employers who have incorrectly excluded certain payments to contractors from their taxable wages for payroll tax purposes prior to 1 July 2008.

AustraliaTax

Damian O’Connor

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The Queensland Commissioner of State Revenue has offered a penalty amnesty for employers who have incorrectly excluded certain payments to contractors from their taxable wages for payroll tax purposes prior to 1 July 2008.

Because of the difficulty the Office of State Revenue experienced in determining whether payments under contractor arrangements were wages subject to payroll tax, the law has been changed from 1 July 2008 so that many payments to contractors will now be subject to payroll tax.

According to the Commissioner, the penalty amnesty will allow employers to bring their payroll tax affairs up to date and transition to the new contractor rules. It is important to note that the amnesty is not in respect of the underlying payroll tax, it is for penalties only.

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