Am I taxed on an insurance payout? Australia has had its fair share of disasters over the last few years – drought, bushfires and floods – that have ramped up the volume of insurance claims. Most people would assume that if and when they need to claim on their insurance, the insurance payout covers the [...]
Work from home expenses under scrutiny & the perils of browsing Facebook If you worked from home during lockdown and spent money on work related items that were not reimbursed by your business, you might be able to claim some of these expenses as a deduction – but not everything you purchase can be claimed. [...]
Is your SMSF ready for the End of the Financial Year (EOFY)? With the end of the financial year fast approaching, now is the perfect time to make some final checks and ensure everything is in order for your SMSF before 30 June. The following are some matters that you might want to know more [...]
What changes on 1 July 2021? Super guarantee rate increase to 10% On 1 July 2021, the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate will rise from 9.5% to 10% - the first rise since 2014. It will then steadily increase each year until it reaches 12% on 1 July 2025. The 0.5% increase does not mean that [...]
Tax exemption for ‘granny flat’ arrangements To protect older Australians, the Government has moved to formalise ‘granny flat arrangements’ by providing an incentive to protect all parties in the arrangement. Typically, granny flat arrangements occur when an older person transfers some sort of consideration (often title to property or proceeds from the sale of property) [...]
The top 8 reasons why staff leave Australia is facing a shortage of skilled labour. When the supply of staff dry up the focus often turns to retention. But the first step is to understand why people you want to stay, choose to move on? Very few people will reveal the whole truth about why [...]
The New Lifetime Director IDs Directors will be required to register for a unique identification number that they will keep for life, much like a tax file number under a rewrite of Australia’s business registers. ASIC does not currently verify the identity of directors and Elvis Presley and Bob Marley could “quite possibly” be registered. [...]
National licence recognition for tradies Builders, electricians, plumbers, architects, real estate agents, security guards and other workers who hold an occupational licence in their home state or territory and who want to do the same work in another state or territory will soon be automatically deemed to have the necessary licence. The Federal, State and [...]
JobMaker fails to boost employment The Government’s JobMaker scheme has created 609 new jobs since registrations opened on 1 February 2021, despite around 15,000 businesses registering their interest in the scheme. The hiring credit is available for jobs created from 7 October 2020 until 6 October 2021 and provides $200 per week for new employees [...]
ATO targets profits of professional service firms The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been concerned for some time about how many professional services firms are structured – specifically, professional practices such as lawyers, architects, medical practices, engineers, architects etc., operating through trusts, companies and partnerships of discretionary trusts and how the profits from these practices [...]