SYDNEY, August 3, 2012 - Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, made history as the first company in Australia to lodge a company tax return via the country’s new Standard Business Reporting (SBR) platform.

An initiative introduced by the Australian Government and led by the Treasury Department, SBR streamlines business-to-government reporting requirements by providing businesses access to all participating government agencies via a single secure online platform.

Australia joins a handful of countries that have successfully introduced standardised reporting structures – including the UK and Singapore.

This initiative is the biggest change in Australian tax reporting since the Electronic Lodgment Service (ELS) was introduced in the late 1980’s. SBR uses an international standards-based business reporting language, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), which will help multinational corporations address global reporting challenges.

With the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) set to transition ELS to SBR in 2015, Paul Brindle, managing director in the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, believes companies should embrace the new initiative now to avoid problems later.

“There is a general sense of inertia among companies who are scared off by the enormity of this change,” says Brindle. “However, SBR is setting the standard for business-government reporting across the globe and will affect every business in Australia in coming years.”

The ATO has said that from July 2013 tax agents must lodge electronically to enjoy the benefits (concessions) of the Lodgment Program. Otherwise, the due date will revert to the statutory due date for lodgement — 31 October.

“We will be progressively increasing electronic interactions, including lodgments, with tax professionals and businesses, as it offers a number of benefits including the reduction or elimination of paper interactions,” an ATO spokesperson said. “Our interest in extending the use of Standard SBR is an example of trying to build infrastructure that is aimed at improving the productivity of Australian business.”

Brindle says SBR is key to economic efficiency and growth, with the long term benefits outweighing the initial challenges of the change.

“As Australian companies continue to struggle to keep abreast of reporting obligations, SBR aims to simplify the lodgement process by reducing red tape and allowing companies to lodge all reports in one place. This will ultimately reduce time, money and resources needed. Furthermore, companies will be able to reduce compliance costs and lodge on their own rather than going through a tax agent.”

Thomson Reuters has been working closely with the ATO and Treasury to develop a solution which will help companies deal with the complex changes. The tool, due to be released in the first quarter of next year, will walk companies through the entire lodgement process, providing them with the required standard reports that assist in maintaining accuracy, quality and consistency. The technology will also provide companies with a complete audit trail.

Thomson Reuters
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Tina Allen
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