Trusts are an important and very useful concept for managing one’s financial affairs, as well as estate planning. The pros and cons of ‘electing’ to be a family trust A trust is established whenever there is a separation of the legal ownership (for example, the name appearing on a land title) from the beneficial […]
By: Max Newnham Businesses registered for GST can claim input tax credits, the GST included in payments, and reduce the amount of GST collected that must be paid to the ATO. When payments relate 100 per cent to business items, such as stock purchases, the amount of input tax credit claimable is one-eleventh of the […]
By: Max Newnham There is a misconception that it is easier to claim a tax deduction for expenses in a business rather than as an employee. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because a person runs a business does not make it any easier to claim expenses, especially with regard to claiming motor vehicle […]
By: Finn Kelly Superannuation is likely already one of your largest assets, and for many of us it’ll most certainly be our largest asset one day. My question to you is, if you know it’s your largest asset, then are you taking it seriously? And if not, why not? If you’re a Gen Y, I know […]
The ATO has just released the latest of what has become a series of annual publications. The report, Self-managed superannuation funds: A statistical overview, started being published in late 2011 and has become an anticipated event for many in the SMSF arena — containing as it usually does some good news. The statistical report […]
By: Max Newnham When it comes to tax effectiveness the simpler a business structure is the less tax effective it is. Family discretionary trusts and companies are more complex structures, cost more to set up, are often more costly for accounting services and fees, but can provide flexibility and deliver tax savings over the long-term. Discretionary […]
The ATO has announced that it is extending the deadline it had set for SMSF trustees to disclose any personal services income that has been diverted to their fund. The concern for the ATO, as outlined in a taxpayer alert (TA2016/6) it issued last year, is the minimising or avoidance of tax obligations that […]
By: Steve Burnham Generally, the GST component of income or expenditure is ignored for income tax purposes. However, there are exceptions, particularly where there has been a change in planned use. The effect of GST on assessable income are: the GST payable in respect of taxable supplies is excluded from assessable income, and a decreasing […]
By: Louis White While large multinational businesses are often experts at finding loopholes to minimise the tax they pay it’s tougher going for small businesses. But there are deductions that can be claimed to cut your tax bill. Property costs For the small business owner there are a lot of decisions to make before deciding whether […]
By: Max Newnham There have been many examples of small business owners being discriminated against when it comes to income tax and superannuation. A historic example related to the tax deduction available to the self-employed. While employees could salary sacrifice contributions and effectively receive a tax deduction for 100 per cent of a contribution, self-employed people were […]
