Tracy & Associates Accounting Warns Small Business Payroll Danger is Still Under the Radar

Canberra, Australia, September 07, 2022 --(PR.com)-- The most dramatic change to small business ATO reporting obligations since the introduction of the GST is upon us, but far too many small businesses remain unaware of these impending payroll regulatory changes.

Axel Tracy, the principal of small business bookkeeping and BAS services firm Tracy & Associates Accounting, has claimed that the disruption caused by the pandemic and the skills shortage in its aftermath has blinded many small employers to the impacts of the introduction of "STP2," the ATO’s second phase of Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting obligations. Tracy said, “STP2 is a complex change to payroll reporting obligations, and the daunting thought is that it’s already here. STP2 officially launched on the 1st January earlier this year, but many small businesses are either unaware of this or unknowingly relying too heavily on the ATO’s deferral options. As seen by the recent spike in insolvencies, the ATO’s softly, softly approach will eventually end.”

Single Touch Payroll (STP) has been a system of real-time payroll reporting to the ATO for Australian employers since as early as 2018. With all deferrals and exemptions for STP Phase 1 having expired by now most businesses or their bookkeepers have become accustomed to filing their STP lodgements during their pay runs. However STP Phase 2 is not a linear expansion of what was required in the first phase. The level of payroll data granularity is compounding in this second phase, and the stakeholders who will rely on the reported data go far beyond the ATO alone.

Driving the push for the introduction of STP2 are other government departments and agencies who are seeking greater Australian payroll information for their own functions. For example, Services Australia is seen as a key recipient of new STP2 reporting data, along with the ABS and the Child Support Agency. As Axel Tracy noted, “With more users of STP2 data there is a greater need for these lodgements to be reliable and timely. This is no longer simply between the business and the ATO. There can be real-world consequences for small businesses, and most importantly their staff, if multiple government agencies and departments are being fed junk data. In a time of low unemployment and skills shortages, and of course the great resignation and quiet quitting, this is no time for small business employers to be causing external headaches for their employees because their payroll systems aren’t neat, tidy and up to date.”

While big business have the resources and teams to stay abreast and ahead of STP2 and other changes, it is small business who may be left lagging behind if this issue isn’t prioritised. Small business employers are being encouraged to keep up to date with notices from their accounting software providers, to use the ATO website to get in-depth details, or proactively engage with their bookkeeper or payroll service provider to understand what support they can offer with STP2 setup and implementation.

Key Contacts:

Axel Tracy

Principal and Registered BAS Agent, Tracy & Associates Accounting
Tel +61 414 833 258
axel@tracyassociates.com.au