Company directors: Do you REALLY know your responsibilities?
Company directors especially need to keep in mind that the Corporations Act …
Deceased estates: Things you need to know
Unfortunately, having to deal with managing a deceased estate is a task many of us will have to shoulder at some stage in our lives — but having some familiarity with what’s involved beforehand will hopefully ease the burden. It is worth remembering that the law that applies to the assets and income of a…
Is it a Business or a Hobby?
It may seem fairly obvious whether a person is in business or not, but the distinction can be important for other reasons. For example, if you are not carrying on a business, the option to deduct losses from other income is lost. So it’s important to establish, from a tax obligation point of view, that…
Using the Small Business Benchmarks
The ATO has a database of “small business benchmarks” against which it compares lodged information. But business owners can also benefit by using the small business benchmarks to compare their own performance. It says the small business benchmarks: are calculated from income tax returns and activity statements from more than 1.3 million small businesses and…
Managing Your Relationship with Your Accountant
Tip No. 1 – Recognise your Strengths and Limitations Many already over-worked business owners spend their valuable time trying to solve business issues themselves, and managed the books. This is obviously useful if it is cost effective to do so. A business owner certainly needs to be an expert on the fundamentals of their business.…
Employee or Contractor
An employment status that makes a difference If your business is looking to put on more staff, first of all: congratulations. But secondly, a warning. The engagement status of workers is an important distinction – whether they are employees or independent contractors – and has consequences that can get many employers into unforeseen hot water.…
Simpler Activity Statements
The ATO says it has listened to the concerns of tax professionals, small businesses, industry associations and software providers, and is working towards reducing GST compliance costs for small businesses. “We are reducing the amount of GST information required for the business activity statement (BAS) to simplify GST record keeping and reporting requirements,” the ATO…
Small Business – Turnover Threshold Increased
The Government will increase the small business entity turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million from 1 July 2016. The current $2 million threshold will be retained for access to the small business CGT concessions. The eligibility threshold for the unincorporated small business tax discount will be raised to $5 million. The Government anticipates…
Small Business – Instant Asset Write-off < $20k
The $20,000 temporary instant asset write-off is extended to businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million. The write-off can provide businesses with some cash benefit. For example, a business with an effective tax rate of 30% can receive up to $5,999 as a tax refund if an asset costing less than…
Small Business – Turnover Threshold Increase & Tax Rate Decrease
From the 2016-17 income year, companies with annual turnover less than $10 million will have a company tax rate of 27.5%. This will decrease the tax rate for around 870,000 companies who employ around 3.4 million workers. Since many small businesses are not companies, from July 1, 2016, the government will also increase and extend…