In Uber B.V. v FC of T, the Federal Court has held that services provided by an Uber driver constituted a supply of "taxi travel" for GST purposes. Accordingly, the driver was required to be registered for GST.

The ATO have advised that ride-sourcing enterprises should:

• keep records
• have an ABN register for GST, regardless of how much they earn
• pay GST on the full fare received from passengers for each trip they provide
• lodge activity statements include income from ride-sourcing in their income tax returns.

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Drivers are also entitled to claim income tax deductions and GST credits on expenses apportioned to the ride-sourcing services they have supplied. Further information on the case is included in the GST section below.

[The ATO has] listened to the concerns of small businesses, tax professionals, industry associations and software providers, and are working towards reducing GST compliance costs for small businesses.

[The ATO] are reducing the amount of GST information required for the business activity statement (BAS) to simplify GST bookkeeping and reporting requirements.

A simpler BAS will give small businesses significant time and cost savings by simplifying account set up, GST bookkeeping and BAS preparation. Businesses will be able to more easily classify transactions and prepare and lodge their BAS.

From 1 July 2017, small businesses will only need to report the following GST information on their BAS:

• GST on sales (1A)
• GST on purchases (1B)
• Total sales (G1)

The requirement to report Export sales (G2), other GST free sales (G3), Capital purchases (G10) and Non-capital purchases (G11) will be removed.

A simpler BAS will support greater use of existing automation functions and potential digital solutions as they evolve.

For more information and to watch the ATO's 'Simpler BAS' video click here.