Profit motive for asset acquisition
A profit that arises from the carrying out of a profit-making undertaking or plan (that is, one with a profit-making intention) will be assessable as statutory income where the proceeds of the profit-making undertaking or plan are not otherwise assessable as ordinary income. Any capital profit on the disposal of assets acquired before 20 September […]
Tax of Foreign Income For Australian Residents
Under Australia’s taxation regime, resident taxpayers are subject to income tax on both income derived in Australia and on foreign sourced income. As a general rule, where foreign income is derived by an Australian resident, the gross amount (including any foreign tax paid on the income) must be included as assessable income. A foreign income […]
Bitcoins and SMSFs
While bitcoin may be the most well-known cryptocurrency, there are nearly 1,500 in existence. In its simplest form, a cryptocurrency is a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system”, which means that the currency is not in a physical form like cash but sits in an electronic register. What makes bitcoin work, where previous attempts at electronic cash […]
Tax and Airbnb
Airbnb is one of many examples of the “sharing economy” — connecting buyers (users) and sellers (providers) through a facilitator that usually operates an app or a website. Airbnb acts as this facilitator by allowing individuals, referred to as “hosts”, to rent out a room of their house or their whole house for a short-time […]
Is your Div 7A Compliant?
Division 7A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA36) is an integrity measure that was designed to prevent companies from making tax-free distributions to shareholders or their associates. This can occur where distributions of profit are disguised as loans or other transactions. This effectively allows the shareholder or their associate to […]
Ways of thinking around Div 7A
Abstract: When a private company makes a loan to a shareholder or an associate during an income year, Div 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) can deem the company to have paid a dividend. The dividend is assessable to that shareholder/associate. However, no deemed dividend will arise if the loan is either repaid or placed […]
Basics of Div 7A
As the owner of a private company, it’s normal – and completely legal – to borrow money from your business. However, thanks to Division 7A of the Tax Act, failing to properly record that loan could land you in some serious strife come tax time. Here’s how it works, and how to avoid its impact […]
Can the ATO wind me up?
Unpaid tax debts can lead to serious consequences for businesses that are having problems keeping up with their tax debt. When it comes to enforcing debt, the ATO has a number of options, including pursuing wind-up proceedings in court. While the ATO will not pursue the wind-up course of action if a company has repaid its […]
8 tips for managing business finance
Keeping track of your business finance is critical, regardless of whether you run a small business or a large enterprise. Tracking financial metrics may be boring or tedious for some people, but it’s absolutely essential. Why? Because it enables you to know exactly what’s going on with your sales and expenses, and therefore make smarter […]
The Value of your Accountant
Many businesses, especially smaller businesses, aren’t committed to consulting their accountant on a regular basis. This can turn out to be a costly error over the longer time when in fact a trusted and competent accountant helps you understand what’s happening in your business. The advice that your accountant gives you can help you avoid […]
