ATO COMPLIANT TAX EXEMPTION EXPLAINED

To be fully complaint with ATO’s guidelines for tax exempt organisations you will need the Governing Rules

In the governing rules we’ll specify that The primary purpose of a Foundation is to sustain the principals & whoever the primary participating principal chooses.

It is to provide a means of paying for food, clothing, lodging, petrol, phone/internet and any other living expense. The Private Foundation also can engage in benevolent activities to make the world a better place by funding, facilitating, implementing and operating projects and enterprises that are socially and environmentally sustainable and target self-sufficiency for mankind on earth and they can work with other private Foundations to achieve this. This is just a moral obligation and there are no laws or regulations requiring you to do anything.

Working out if your organisation is income tax exempt

 To work out if your non-profit organisation is exempt from income tax you first need to consider if your organisation:

·         needs to be registered with the ACNC and endorsed by ATO ( NOT APLICABLE TO OUR FOUNDATIONS)

·         can self-assess its income tax status. (You sure can self-assess…right?) 

 

Charities must be registered with the ACNC and endorsed by ATO if they want to be exempt from income tax. (Our Private Foundations are NOT Charities)

Organisations that are not charities can self-assess their income tax status. This means they can work out for themselves if they are exempt. They do not need to be endorsed by ATO or get confirmation of their income tax status from ATO. ( CRAZY )

 

Community service organisations

 

Requirements checklist

 

Your organisation will be exempt from income tax, and can self-assess its exemption, if it meets all of the following requirements:

 

·         it is a non-profit society, association or club (YES our private Foundations are non-profit)

·         it is established for community service purposes except political or lobbying purposes. (Yes our Private Foundations are established for community service, so in order for you to comply with ATO you need to pick a worthy cause. Whatever you like.

For example: our cause at SNM Foundation is to facilitate the mainstream adoption of the Block chain technologies in Australia.)  

 

·         it is not a charity  ( Our Private Foundations are NOT charities)

·         it meets one of the three tests

 

Three tests

 

For a community service organisation that is not a charity to be exempt from income tax, it must pass one of the following tests:

·         physical presence in Australia test ( Yes all our Private Foundations meet ” physical presence in Australia test)

·         DGR test.     (NOT relevent to our Private Foundations)

·         prescribed by law test. ( NOT relevant to our Private Foundations)

 

If your organisation exists, operates and incurs its expenditure solely and entirely in Australia, you meet the physical presence in Australia test. You do not need to read anything further about the three tests. ( Thats an easy one)

         

·         it complies with all the substantive requirements in its governing rules ( governing rules supplied by us)

·         it applies its income and assets solely for the purpose for which it is established. (the purpose is to sustain its participants  pursuant to the governing rules)

 

 

Review your Entitlements and responsibilities

 

Being exempt from income tax means your organisation:

 

·         does not need to lodge an income tax return. ( Fire your accountant )

·         does not need to get confirmation of its exemption from ATO. ( You are in the private realm )

 

and complete the Income tax status review worksheet for self-assessing non-profit organisations   (NAT 74141). (Do not send the completed worksheet to ATO) 

The ATO does not even want to talk to you now as you are now operating in the private realm governed by your own governing rules which we supply and you can amend at any point in time as you wish.

I know what you are thinking…”This is crazy…it can NOT be” guess what??? IT IS 100% real!!!