News

A new scheme may help you make your dream of owning a home come true. High property prices have made owning a home unattainable for many prospective first‑time buyers. Butthe First Home Super Saver scheme, passed by the Australian Government in December 2017, may help keep their dream of buying their first home alive. The scheme helps you…

Did you know there is about 14.8 million Australians with a superannuation account, 40% of which hold more than one account? Some of that 40% make up the $18 billion in ‘lost super’. Is some of that yours? Find it Moved house? Changed jobs? Don’t know where your teenage self stashed your super? It’s easy…

Who gets a tax cut from 1 July? 1 July 2018 is the start date for the seven-year income tax plan announced in the recent 2018-19 Federal Budget. The seven-year plan benefits low and middle-income earners in the first few years before expanding out to a broader restructure of the tax rates and brackets for…

Your essential EOFY checklist No one wants to pay more tax than they need to or face unnecessary risks. We’ve compiled a list of our top tips for you: 1. Donate If you are going to donate to charity, now is the time. Any donations you make to deductible gift recipients can be deducted this…

What’s changing on 1 July 2018? Individuals Personal tax bracket changes – The top threshold of the 32.5% personal income tax bracket will increase from $87,000 to $90,000*. Introduction of the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset* providing a tax offset for those with taxable income of up to $125,333. GST on property developments and residential subdivisions –…

June 30 is around the corner, which means it’s time to start thinking about your tax return. Read on to learn how to prepare for the end of the financial year and maybe even increase your tax refund. You can take the pain out of the end of the financial year by being organised. With…

As we approach 30 June, there are several end of financial year (EOFY) planning strategies you may wish to consider. Whether these are appropriate for you will depend on your financial situation, goals and objectives. Maximise your superannuation contributions  Some of the biggest EOFY planning considerations centre on the fact that the superannuation contribution framework…

Mortgage pricing not strongly competitive The opaque pricing of discounts offered on residential mortgage rates makes it difficult for customers to make informed choices and disadvantages borrowers who do not regularly review their choice of lender, a report by the ACCC has found. The ACCC’s Residential Mortgage Price Inquiry is monitoring the prices charged by…

We live in a world where everything has become connected and integrated As such, business owners now expect their accountant to be involved in various aspects of their business rather than just provide them with a number for how much tax is due at the end of each year. Increasingly they want to work with…

Superannuation Guarantee Amnesty Employers that have fallen behind with their superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations will have 12 months to “self-correct” under a new amnesty announced on 24 May 2018. The ATO estimates that $2.85 billion is currently owed in late or missing SG payments. Running from 24 May 2018 for 12 months, the amnesty encourages…

CGT and the family home Expats and foreign residents beware The family home of foreign residents and expats may be taxed if legislation before Parliament is passed by the Senate. If you are a foreign resident living in Australia or an Australian working overseas who owns residential property in Australia, this reform potentially has serious…

The air of volatility remained over April 2018, following continued trade tensions which were escalated further under President Trump with the revelation that the United States (US) would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, reinstating all sanctions previously removed following agreement on the deal in 2015. European allies were disappointed, expressing their desire to commit…

CGT and the family home: Expats and foreign residents beware Foreign residents living in Australia If you are a foreign citizen currently living in Australia but planning to leave Australia at some stage in the short to medium term then these new rules are likely to impact on you. If you owned your home at…

Finances can make or break your business It’s vital to keep them in check. Here are some tips. 1. Don’t lose out Take advantage of recent tax and regulatory changes, such as: the $20,000 instant asset write-off threshold, which has been extended until 30 June 2019 for companies with turnover of less than $10 million the new crowd-sourced equity…

What you need to know The Budget is forecast to return to surplus in 2019/20 with a positive balance of $2.2bn Income tax relief for low-income and middle-income earners – up to $530 per annum via a tax offset– for four years commencing 1 July 2018 Addressed income tax bracket creep – as part of…

What you need to know The Budget is forecast to return to surplus in 2019/20 with a positive balance of $2.2bn Income tax relief for low-income and middle-income earners – up to $530 per annum via a tax offset– for four years commencing 1 July 2018 Addressed income tax bracket creep – as part of…

Reward for work a dominant theme in this year’s Budget The seven year personal income tax plan initially targets low to middle-income earners before making significant changes to the tax brackets. But, the devil is in the detail for advisers. SMSF Auditors are grappling with the proposed 3 year SMSF audit cycle. There are also…

What you need to know The Budget is forecast to return to surplus in 2019/20 with a positive balance of $2.2bn Income tax relief for low-income and middle-income earners – up to $530 per annum via a tax offset– for four years commencing 1 July 2018 Addressed income tax bracket creep – as part of…

What you need to know The Budget is forecast to return to surplus in 2019/20 with a positive balance of $2.2bn Income tax relief for low-income and middle-income earners – up to $530 per annum via a tax offset– for four years commencing 1 July 2018 Addressed income tax bracket creep – as part of…

What you need to know The Budget is forecast to return to surplus in 2019/20 with a positive balance of $2.2bn Income tax relief for low-income and middle-income earners – up to $530 per annum via a tax offset for four years commencing 1 July 2018 Addressed income tax bracket creep as part of a…

Please see below links to this month’s Arnhem Global Growth SMA newsletters and performance. Arnhem Global Growth Newsletter April 2018

CGT and the family home: Expats and foreign residents beware If you are an Australian citizen working overseas but a non-resident for tax purposes, these new rules are likely to affect your main residence in Australia. If you maintain your main residence in Australia, you can use the absence rule to maintain the exempt status…

For most business owners, the idea of when to pass it on or sell up is an issue most tend to avoid. Unfortunately, often an event such as a death, divorce or accident forces the issue and mostly the best result isn’t achieved. By proactively planning for the future handover of your business and assets,…

Single Touch Payroll What employees need to know Single Touch Payroll (STP) – the direct reporting of salary and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contribution information to the ATO – comes into effect from 1 July 2018. For employees While the Government and ATO are promoting STP as a way to improve the efficiency of payroll processes…

A recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Tax Deductions created some fairly sensational headlines about what and how deductions are being claimed – $22 billion worth to be exact. In Australia, tax deductions are available for expenses incurred in producing assessable income. These are generally work-related deductions or investment related deductions. And, unlike some other countries, these…

A Bumpier Ride Trump’s trade tariffs with possible repercussions in the form of a trade war and a shake-up in technology stocks, led by Facebook on the back of its privacy violation, meant March was a bumpy ride for Wall Street. The U.S. stock market finished the first quarter of 2018 with losses for the…

Investment expenses While expenses can be claimed for a wide array of income-producing assets, property is where most of the activity is centred. Investment-related expenses can include management fees for an investment, account-keeping fees, insurance, land tax, depreciation, maintenance expenses, and interest on borrowings used to purchase an income-producing asset. $41.7 billion in rental expenses were claimed in…

Each week on our social media pages we share a topical article or infographic that we hope you find interesting and informative. If you don’t follow our social media pages, you should! Check out the links below and give us a follow. Our Facebook Page Our LinkedIn page ‘Informed’ is a quarterly publication which takes some…

Starting a new business is exciting But there’s a lot to think about and organise Research If you are made of sterner stuff and you have the drive to make a success of your business idea, start by talking with others who have gone down the same path and can help you figure out your…

Please see below links to this month’s Arnhem Global Growth SMA newsletters and performance. Arnhem Australia+ Newsletter ASX benchmark March 2018 Arnhem Global Growth Newsletter March 2018

Single Touch Payroll What employers need to know Single Touch Payroll (STP) – the direct reporting of salary and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contribution information to the ATO – comes into effect from 1 July 2018. For employers Employers with 20 or more employees at 1 April 2018 must use standard business reporting-enabled software from 1…

LISTEN TO OUR FIRST PODCAST! WHAT ARE SEPARATELY MANAGED ACCOUNTS? If you missed our recent Separately Managed Accounts information sessions, or want to know more about SMAs, you should listen to our first ever podcast! What is a podcast? It’s news and info on the go! A podcast is a voice-only recording that you can…

Whether you’re planning a large, luxurious wedding or a small, intimate affair, smart budgeting could help free you from financial worries, so you can enjoy your special day. Following these steps may help ensure no one’s worried about debt on the honeymoon. 1. Plan early: Given that the average Australian wedding costs $36,200 [1], the sooner you start…

Bills still need to be paid even if illness or injury keep you out of work. But help is available if you need it. Dealing with a serious illness or injury is stressful enough without having to consider how to cope financially. However, making sure you get everything you are entitled to and offsetting bill…

Dyahn Werth – Carrick Aland Accountant As a Chartered Accountant, Dyahn Werth supports Carrick Aland’s clients by preparing Business Activity Statements, Individual Activity Statements, financial accounts and income tax returns for individuals, partnerships, trusts and companies. She has a leaning towards clients who operate in the agricultural sector, possibly because she herself hails from a…

Work-related expenses At $19.7 billion, work-related expenses accounted for nearly two-thirds of total deductions claimed by individuals in 2012-13. The most common claims were for car expenses ($8 billion or around 40%), followed by $7 billion in ‘other expenses’ comprising home office costs and tools, equipment and other assets. Work-related travel expenses counted for $2…

Big changes for developers and purchasers If a Bill currently before Parliament passes, from 1 July 2018, purchasers of new residential premises or new residential subdivisions will need to remit the GST on the purchase price directly to the ATO as part of the settlement process. This is a significant change from how GST is…

Xero small business insights January is typically the worst month for on-time payments to Australian small businesses. Many families are on school holidays, some businesses shut for weeks and outstanding bills can sit unpaid. This year was no different, and the latest Xero Small Business Insights (SBI) data shows businesses waited an average 38.8 days…

Will your business be audited? How the ATO identifies audit targets The ATO is very upfront when it comes to their compliance activity. Every year they publish small business benchmarks that outline what a typical business ‘looks like’ in different industries. If your business falls outside of those benchmarks, the ATO is likely to take a…

Salary sacrifice or employee contribution? One issue that frequently causes confusion is the difference between the employee salary sacrificing in order to receive a fringe benefit and making an employee contribution towards the value of that fringe benefit. Salary sacrificing for a fringe benefit To be an effective salary sacrifice arrangement (SSA), the agreement must…

Living away from home allowances Living Away From Home Allowances (LAFHA) continue to cause confusion for both employers and employees. A LAFHA is an allowance paid to an employee by their employer to compensate for additional expenses they incur, and any disadvantages suffered because the employee’s job requires them to live away from their normal…

Dear Advisers, Consultants and Fellow Investors, Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in our suite of Arnhem Global SMA strategies. Please find attached and below our February 2018 performance for both the ‘Global Growth’ and ‘Australia+’ Portfolios. Given the heightened volatility in global markets witnessed at the beginning of the month, we thought…

Did you miss our Separately Managed Accounts Information Sessions, or just want to look at the presentation again? Our presentation covered the background of DNR Capital, what Separately Managed Accounts are, the benefits of SMAs, and a Market Review. Click the attachment for a copy of the presentation. If you’d like to know more please contact…

We caught up with Figured this quarter who flagged the Senate Enquiry into banking and lending to primary productions industries, including agriculture, fisheries and forestry. One of the key recommendations was that the banks should not have any control over farm budgeting and forecasting. The writing is on the wall, but what does it mean? At Carrick…

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency known as a cryptocurrency. It operates on a decentralised peer-to-peer networked program on your computer, meaning that transactions can be conducted between a buyer and seller without the need for any third party oversight such as a regulator or bank. The underlying technology that makes all cryptocurrencies possible…

Notifying a breach If a breach is assessed to potentially result in serious harm, you are obliged to advise affected individuals and the Australian Information Commissioner. You have the option to: Notify all individuals whose personal information is involved in the eligible data breach Notify only the individuals who are at likely risk of serious…

Emerging markets remained strong over January 2018, increasing 4.6% over the month to be up 32.2% for the 12-month period while global equities also continued their upwards climb. Confidence in China, following strong economic activity and increased emphasis placed on achieving sustainable growth continues to support emerging markets performance. Brazil also renewed confidence through the…

The Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) Scheme In October last year, almost 50,000 employee records from Australian Government agencies, banks and a utility were exposed and compromised because of a misconfigured cloud-based ‘Amazon S3 bucket’. AMP was reportedly one of the worst affected with 25,000 leaked employee records. ITNews reports that the data breach was discovered…

1 January 2018 Vacancy fees for foreign acquisitions of residential land – An annual vacancy fee imposed on foreign owners of residential real estate if the property is not occupied or genuinely available on the rental market for at least 183 days in a particular 12 month period.  Foreign owners can avoid the fee by living in…

ATO Transparency of tax debt measure The proposed Transparency of tax debt (TOTD) measure will require new law to allow the ATO to report tax debt information of businesses to CRBs. The measure will commence when the new law is given royal assent. In the 2016–2017 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), the government announced that…

Please find attached an Economic Update from the Western Downs Regional Council. 0917 September 2017 Quarterly Update

Carrick Aland’s succession skills organise farm and business families If selling is not on the agenda, most families know they have to do something about handing their farm or business onto the next generation, but it doesn’t have to be a hot potato. Succession planning can be a very emotive topic Combine money, ambition, desire…

Carrick Aland Front Foot Farming – Q2 Findings FY17 One year after introducing higher level agricultural financial reporting, Carrick Aland reports that 89 per cent of farming business clients tapping in are already benefiting from better livestock movement tracking and integrated tax planning. “Closing stock on cattle was always a grey area and the question…

ACCC gets tough on credit card surcharge The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a warning to businesses charging excessive credit card fees. One large merchant has already been issued with four infringement notices and has paid $43,200 in penalties! The new rules, which came into effect from 1 September 2017, prevent merchants…

Foreign property owners slapped with fee for vacant property Australia has followed the international trend of penalising foreign owners of Australian residential property who keep their property vacant for extended periods of time. Last month Parliament approved legislation that imposes an annual vacancy fee on foreign owners of residential real estate if the property is…

What changes are coming? Earlier this year, a Federal Court case about apprentice pay could result in many employers having to back pay apprentices. In November, the Federal Court in Brisbane dismissed claims from All Trades Queensland, Master Builders Queensland, and the Housing Industry Association that apprentices in the State should continue to be covered…

Market corrects  Share markets continued late-January’s correction in February before a partial bounce-back saw global shares recover some ground, ending the month down 3.7% in hedged terms. New US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s debut testimony flagged the Fed may raise rates 4 rather than 3 times this year. This, along with prospects of a…

A light-hearted look at the complexity of Australian taxation laws Dear Santa, Thank you for the opportunity to provide tax advice for your operation. We are pleased you have initiated this advice as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is looking closely at any business or individual that operates within Australia but has significant transactions or…

Other tax and renovation issues The main residence exemption is not the only issue that comes up with property flipping. Tax deductions for rental properties and renovating for profit inside a self-managed super fund (SMSF) are common topics: Can I claim a tax deduction for renovations on my investment property? It is not generally possible to…

What is the main residence exemption? Generally, you do not pay CGT on the sale of your private home. A full exemption should be available if the following conditions are met: You are an individual who is selling a dwelling or an ownership interest in a dwelling; The dwelling has been your home for the…

Why ‘property flipping’ is the next ATO target The tax law does not allow you to ‘flip’ a property tax-free even if you are living in it. Most people think that they can move into a property, renovate it, and then sell it without paying tax. The main residence exemption – the exemption that protects…

How small subsidiaries are being caught by Australia’s new multinational tax crackdown Entities with a global parent or that are part of a large group of companies are being caught in the multinational tax crackdown regardless of their size in Australia. With effect from 1 July 2016, many smaller entities connected to a larger parent…

ASIC penalties ‘the cost of doing business’ The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is set to increase penalties for corporate and financial sector misconduct to deter the fines being seen as the cost of doing business. The impact of the proposed changes would be to expand the range of civil penalty provisions and to…

New legislation restricts access to the reduced company tax rate Legislation restricting access to the small business company tax rate reduction entered Parliament last month. The changes specifically preclude companies with passive investments such as rental property income from qualifying for the small business entity tax rate of 27.5%. For the 2017 income year, a…

Cleaners and couriers latest black economy target From 1 July 2018, the taxable payments reporting system will extend beyond the building industry to cleaning and courier businesses. This means that these businesses will need to report payments they make to contractors (individual and total for the year) to the ATO. By ‘payment’ the ATO means…

Interest Rate Outlook At the November board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the official cash rate would remain at 1.50% for the 15th consecutive month. In his statement the Governor noted that while there are positive signs within the global and domestic economy and the labour market continues to tighten, inflation remains…

Single Touch Payroll starts 1 July 2018 The ATO is changing the way employers report their tax and super You may need to use Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2018. You’ll now be able to report this information to the ATO directly from your payroll solution. If you have 20 or more employees, you need to…

Scams targeting ASIC customers – be vigilant! Scammers pretending to be from ASIC have been contacting Registry customers asking them to pay fees and give personal information to renew their business or company name. These emails often have a link that provides an invoice with fake payment details or infects your computer with malware if…