The ATO’s final position on risky trust distributions The ATO has released its final position on how it will apply some integrity rules dealing with trust distributions - changing the goal posts for trusts distributing to adult children, corporate beneficiaries, and entities with losses. As a result, many family groups will pay higher taxes because [...]
Is ‘downsizing’ worth it? From 1 January 2023, those 55 and over can make a ‘downsizer’ contribution to superannuation. Downsizer contributions are an excellent way to get money into superannuation quickly. And now that the age limit has reduced to 55 from 60, more people have an opportunity to use this strategy if it suits [...]
Full throttle in 2023 In a volatile market, keeping to a strategy, or let’s face it creating one, can be tough. The downside of not taking time out for your strategy is that there is a tendency to keep a short-term focus at an operational level to try and pick quick wins to generate financial [...]
How good is ChatGPT at tax? Not being paranoid or anything but we were curious about the skills of the latest innovation to take the world by storm, ChatGPT, and its ability to work with the Australian tax system. Let’s start by saying that we were impressed. Not so much by ChatGPT’s ability to work [...]
How high will interest rates go? Low interest rates have been a mainstay since the global financial crisis of 2008. When the pandemic hit, Governments pushed stimulus measures through the economy and central banks reduced interest rates even further. Coming out of COVID, housing market demand was strong and prices boomed but at the same [...]
30 November director ID deadline The deadline for existing directors of Australian companies to obtain a Director Identification Number is 30 November 2022. All directors of a company, registered Australian body, registered foreign company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation (ATSI) will need a director ID. This includes directors of a corporate trustee of [...]
Taxing fame: The ATO’s U-turn Sportspeople, media personalities, celebrities and ‘insta’ influencers beware. The ATO has taken a U-turn on how fame and image should be taxed. If you’re famous and make an income from your fame and image, the way the ATO believes you should be taxed on the income you make may change [...]
Scams and how to avoid them I got a text the other day “Hi Mum, I have broken my phone and I am using this number.” The “Hi Mum” scam has exploded with more than 1,150 Australians falling victim to the ploy in the first seven months of 2022, with total reported losses of $2.6 [...]
Can you prevent a hack? In the wake of the Optus data leak, legislation before Parliament will lift the maximum fine for serious or repeated breaches of the Privacy Act from $2.2m to up to $50m. But there are no guarantees that even the strongest safety measures will prevent an attack. So, what does that [...]
Lessons from a data breach The Optus data breach is top of mind for a lot of Australians, particularly those who have had their data breached. For business, the breach is a timely warning on the importance of understanding what data is held on your customers (and should you hold it?), how it is secured, [...]
