Small Business Ombudsman’s Verdict on the RTI Reveals Lack of Consistency
Small Business Ombudsman’s Verdict on the RTI Reveals Lack of Consistency The report from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) has confirmed what many in the industry have known for some time – the current administrative approach by AusIndustry and the ATO to the R&D Tax Incentive program is inconsistent with the […]
Travel Expenses: Reissue of the Draft Taxation Ruling
Travel Expenses: Reissue of the Draft Taxation Ruling We have new guidance from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on the tax deductibility of travel expenses (which also has Fringe Benefits Tax implications). The ATO issued draft taxation ruling TR 2019/D7 on Friday 13 December 2019. For those of you keeping track of the developments in this area, […]
Disclosure of Business Tax Debts Under New Reporting Laws
Disclosure of Business Tax Debts Under New Reporting Laws On the 22 October 2019, the Government passed new reporting laws permitting the ATO to release tax debt information of businesses to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs). The law received royal assent on 28 October 2019. Under the law, tax debt information of a business may […]
Property Co-Ownership
Stratospheric property prices are a fact of life in Sydney and many other places in NSW. Young Australians and others just entering the property market can be forgiven for feeling daunted by the cost of a first home or the initial outlay required to get started in property investment. There may be a workaround, though. […]
Div 7A Refresher
What is Division 7A? Division 7A is part of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and is essentially in place to prevent profits or assets of a company being given tax-free to shareholders or their associates. This can occur where distributions of profit are disguised as loans or other transactions effectively allowing the shareholder or […]
Holiday house
Just when many Australians are considering getting away for a mid-winter break, the ATO is reminding taxpayers that it is paying close attention to rental properties located in popular holiday destinations around Australia. The ATO recently issued a statement saying that last year it identified a large number of mistakes with deductions for rental properties, […]
Salary Sacrificing Changes: Information for Employers
Salary Sacrificing Changes: Information for Employers From 1 January 2020, salary sacrificed super contributions cannot be used to reduce your super guarantee obligations, regardless of the amount your employee elects to salary sacrifice. This means for the purposes of super guarantee (SG), the salary sacrificed amount will not count towards your super guarantee obligations. In […]
Estate planning in super
Your superannuation trust deed along with the superannuation laws form the governing rules that self managed super funds (SMSFs) needs to operate by. The introduction of the $1.6 million transfer balance cap (TBC) and new transition to retirement income stream (TRIS) rules are a ‘game changer’ for SMSFs when discussing benefit payments and estate planning. […]
Decisions in Binding Death Nominations
A recent decision has clarified three issues regarding the validity of binding death benefit nominations. I have relied on the following summary from Townsend Law’s Michael Hallinan for interpretation of the decision. A recent decision of the South Australian Court of Appeal (Cantor Management Services Pty Ltd v Booth [2017]) has passed important comment on no less […]
Incapacity and a SMSF
Who do you want to manage your fund if you die or are incapacitated? What to consider in the choice of an EPOA/Executor Who do you want to receive your SMSF account balance? Who do you want to manage your care options if you are incapacitated? What to consider in the choice of an Enduring […]
