Towards Zero Interest Rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to reduce interest rates again to historic lows. Economist Emmanuel Calligeris explores the impact.
Read more
ATO take ‘gloves off’ on overseas income
The ATO has again flagged that underreporting of foreign income is an issue, but this time the gloves are off.
The $11.1bn small business tax shortfall
New figures give visibility to tax compliance issues within small business sector and indicate where ATO expects resources to be focussed now and in the future. Read our 4 tips to make your business ATO-proof.
FBT and Uber style ridesharing
Ridesharing and the FBT taxi travel exemption When an employee uses a taxi service for travel to or from work or if the employee is sick, it is generally exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) under the FBT taxi travel exemption. The question is, what about Uber and other ridesharing services, do they also qualify for…
Cash payments to business
Why the Government does not want your business accepting cash payments of $10,000 or more From 1 January 2020, the Government intends to restrict the value of cash payments a business makes or accepts to amounts under $10,000. Ignoring the limit will become a criminal offence with penalties of up to 2 years in prison…
Proof of life certificates
‘Proof of life’ certificates required for overseas pensioners One of the stranger pieces of legislation to be introduced into Parliament last month is an attempt to ensure that overseas welfare recipients over the age of 80 are in fact, alive. There are approximately 96,000 people permanently living overseas who currently receive an Australian social security…
Tax treatment of compensation from financial institutions
By 30 June 2019, five major financial institutions paid $119.7 million in compensation for poor financial advice to 6,318 customers. The question is, how are these payments treated for tax purposes? The tax treatment varies according to why the compensation was paid and who the payment was made to. Compensation payments are made for a…
60,000 tax cheat tip-offs
Effectiveness of tip-off line has led ATO to dub it “crime stoppers” for tax Tip-offs to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have reached an all-time high with close to 60,000 tip-offs received between June and May 2019 – almost double the number of the previous year. The ATO thinks the number of tip-offs will reach…
Weirdest tax deductions revealed
Would you claim the Lego you bought for your kids throughout the year as a tax deduction? One taxpayer did and it made the Australian Taxation Office’s 2018-19 list of most unusual claims. The Lego was not the only claim for money spent on kids. Another taxpayer claimed their children’s sports equipment and sporting membership…
Who owns the assets of a trust?
Recent case highlights some of the trust tax problems that can occur It’s not uncommon for people to put assets such as their family home into a trust, particularly professionals working in litigious fields or family groups wanting to protect assets. The taxpayer, in this case, had become the owner of their main residence as…