Chances are, if you have had more than one job, you will most likely have multiple super accounts. Having multiple super accounts means more fees and less savings. Consolidating all your super accounts into one account can help you to keep track of your super, reduce unnecessary paperwork, and most importantly, save on costs. The…
The Government has announced a new measure in the 2016-17 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook to prevent the distribution of franking credits where a distribution to shareholders is funded by particular capital raising activities. This new measure is intended to address issues raised by the Tax Office’s Taxpayer Alert 2015/2 regarding arrangements used by companies…
With changes to Australia’s superannuation rules coming into play on 1 July 2017, self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees would do well to review their fund’s trust deed. Despite the fact that maintaining an up-to-date trust deed is a vital aspect of managing a SMSF, many trustees fail to do so, usually due to the time…
The ATO has provided further guidance for healthcare practitioners dealing with lump sum payments from healthcare centre operators. The Tax Office is concerned with some practitioners who have received lump sum payments and have incorrectly treated the payments as a capital gain. These practitioners have then applied the small business CGT concessions to reduce the…
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have a number of investment restrictions which apply to transactions conducted within the fund. One such restriction applies to transactions involving ‘related parties’ of the fund and ‘relatives of members.’ No one associated with the SMSF should obtain a present-day benefit from the fund’s investments. The fund needs to meet the…
The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2016-17 (MYEFO) announced that from 1 July 2017, the ATO will disclose tax debt information of businesses who have not effectively engaged with the ATO to credit reporting bureaus. The new measure is aimed at enhancing the integrity of the tax system and ensuring businesses who are not compliant…
Running a self-managed super fund requires trustees to adhere to complex laws and follow a number of onerous rules. One of the most fundamental investment rules for SMSFs is that the trustees must transact on an arm’s length basis to ensure no conflict of interest arises. An arm’s length transaction requires trustees to conduct on…
With the fringe benefits tax (FBT) year ending 31 March 2017, now is the time for business owners to get their FBT affairs sorted. When calculating FBT liability, employers must gross-up the taxable value of benefits provided to reflect the gross salary employees would need to earn at the highest marginal tax rate (including Medicare…
Self-managed super funds can access Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief to provide temporary relief from certain capital gains that might arise as a result of individuals complying with the transfer balance cap, and Transition to Retirement Income Stream (TRIS) reforms, commencing on 1 July 2017. The transitional CGT relief is designed to preserve the income…
Many small food retailers buy and sell products that are both taxable and GST-free. Depending on the point-of-sale equipment used, identifying and recording these sales can be difficult for business owners. The ATO has introduced a series of simplified accounting methods (SAMs) to make it easier to account for GST and work out the amount…