It’s tax time again – and with it comes the annual Tax Office warnings about tax scams, which always seem to proliferate during tax season. So how can you spot a scam and what can you do to prevent being fleeced? Tax scams can take many forms Phone scams are the number one type of…
DetailsOctober 31 is a hard deadline for employers with 20 more employees to switch to paying superannuation obligations for their staff electronically. Employers with 19 or fewer members of staff have still got until June 30, 2016 before they need to comply with the new SuperStream standard for superannuation payments. And those with an SMSF…
DetailsChristmas will be here before we know it, and it is likely that better organised employers will already be thinking about their yuletide preparations. But while you should feel free to pop a champagne cork or three for your employees, make sure that you don’t get the tax hangover; particularly with fringe benefit tax and…
DetailsAs you will be aware the requirements of the Income Tax Assessment Act are strict, this memo is a formal reminder of the general provisions that apply to individuals and any related entities, consistent with prior years. Self-assessment Under the current “self-assessment” system, income tax returns are not necessarily subjected to technical scrutiny either before…
DetailsPutting your money into bricks and mortar has been a traditional stalwart of investing for generations of Australians, and continues to be viewed as a solid place to park spare cash and build wealth in the long term. For many years a lot of us seem to have heeded the quote attributed to Mark Twain:…
DetailsAnyone with a concern that their circumstances may put them in an unusual position tax-wise, or that a particular financial arrangement doesn’t fit any known approach for tax purposes, or who simply wants to minimise the risk of an unanticipated tax outcome, can apply for a ‘private ruling’ from the Tax Office. Asking for a…
DetailsCan salary sacrifice work for your staff? Salary sacrifice can be a great way for your employees to get a part of their remuneration in a form other than cash, where they agree to take part of their wage as a benefit of some kind, equal in value to the salary it is exchanged for.…
DetailsIn a surprise – but welcome – move in the 2015 Federal Budget, the Government announced a small business tax discount. The Government said that, with effect from 1 July 2015, individual taxpayers with business income from an unincorporated business that has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $2 million will be eligible for…
DetailsIn an unprecedented first for small business tax compliance, the Tax Office has revealed it will chase up incorrectly disclosed income and match it to credit card and debit card records throughout the 2014-15 financial year. As part of the blitz, the Tax Office will ask major Australian financial institutions for the online purchase details…
DetailsIt’s little wonder the phrase ‘bracket creep’ summons up images of spiders and other nightmarish creepy-crawlies. While it’s not a bad thing to earn more money, get a raise, or have your salary adjusted with inflation, unwittingly jumping into a higher tax bracket can negate any fiscal gains you make from the added income. The…
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