GST Issues on the sale of Property
Making a profit from buying and selling a property has long been an attractive money making option. However, there are a number of tax considerations which could reduce its attractiveness. The main issues are to do with GST - whether sellers need to be...
New reporting requirements for BCI taxpayers
The ATO is reminding contractors in the building and construction industry (or 'BCI') to take extra care with their returns this year. Also, businesses in the building and construction industry are now required to report to the ATO the total amount they paid to...
Simpler depreciation rules for business
The ATO has reminded small businesses with turnover of less than $2 million (i.e., small business entities or ‘SBEs’) that the depreciation rules for business assets are now simpler from the 2012/13 income year onwards. Assets costing less than $6,500 The small...
Massive change to treatment of FBT on car fringe benefits
The government has decided to bring forward the commencement of the carbon emissions trading scheme to 1 July 2014, and as part of this they have announced other changes, including to the FBT treatment of car fringe benefits. Of course, whether or not these...
The ATO on work related expenses
With $18 billion in work-related expenses (WREs) being claimed each year, the ATO says that it will focus on occupations with a pattern of large or rising claims, as well as claims which do not fit the pattern for a particular occupation. What's new this year? This...
ATO’s new ‘Trusts Taskforce’
The ATO’s recent compliance operations have uncovered evidence of increased manipulation of trusts as vehicles that can be at the centre of tax avoidance or evasion arrangements. The ATO will target those people that exploit trusts to conceal information,...
Medicare Levy increase becomes law
The DisabilityCare Australia legislation that provides for a half a percentage point increase in the Medicare levy has passed the Parliament and become law. The legislation will increase the Medicare levy from 1.5% to 2% of taxable income from 1 July 2014....
ATO warns investors about tax avoidance schemes
The ATO's Commissioner, Chris Jordan, has warned investors about new and complex tax avoidance schemes being marketed as people get ready to lodge their 2013 tax returns, saying: "Tax avoidance schemes are no longer the blatant too-good-to-be-true offers seen in the...
Asset Transfers before Bankruptcy may be Void by Court Order
Bankruptcy is one of those situations that most people don’t think too much about, unless it affects them directly. The consequences are quite serious, and even after the required time has passed and the bankruptcy ends, a permanent record of the situation remains on...
What would Bankruptcy Mean for your Asset Protection Strategies?
Media reports of high profile court cases involving well-known people who have declared bankruptcy have created some urban legends around what is actually a very complex issue. Everyone knows someone who knows someone else who moved their assets from here to there,...