ATO Crackdown on Trusts
By Westcourt Blogger The ATO is currently targeting contrived trust arrangements that minimise tax by creating artificial differences between the taxable net income and distributable income of closely held trusts. Arrangements where trustees are engineering a reduction in trust income to improperly gain favourable tax breaks or pay no tax at all are being targeted […]
Transition to retirement (TTR) changes
By Westcourt Blogger With the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the transition to retirement (TTR) pension to take effect from 1 July 2017, those with existing arrangements should review them to avoid any adverse impact on their retirement funds. Following changes in the 2016 Federal Budget, from 1 July 2017, transition to retirement (TTR) pensions […]
Income tests for tax offsets
By Westcourt Blogger Income tests are used to work out a person’s eligibility for tax offsets and benefits which can reduce the amount of tax they have to pay. The Australian Taxation Office considers various items from a person’s tax return when applying income tests. For example, a number of offsets, benefits and obligations are […]
Understanding home equity
A home’s equity is the difference between the market value of the property and the amount the owner still owes on their home loan. For example, if the home is worth $800,000 and the homeowner owes $450,000, they have $350,000 in equity. There many ways homeowners can build equity in their home to improve their […]
Succession planning for SMSFs
By Westcourt Blogger A mandatory component of managing a self-managed super fund (SMSF) is planning out what will happen to the fund if its trustee was to pass away. While succession planning may not be one of the first responsibilities that comes to mind when managing an SMSF, it is a necessity that can provide […]
Claiming tax offsets and rebates
Tax offsets (also known as’rebates’) can directly reduce the amount of tax payable on a person’s taxable income. While claiming certain tax offsets can reduce a person’s tax payable to zero, on their own, they cannot create a tax refund. Here are three common types of tax offsets some individuals are eligible to claim: Health […]
ATO develops safe harbour for car fringe benefits
The Australian Tax Office has recently collaborated with industry representatives to develop a safe harbour for car fringe benefits. A safe harbour is a guideline that allows Australian businesses to make use of an efficient way to calculate tax where certain conditions are met. This particular safe harbour will simplify the approach for working out […]
Paying tax on superannuation contributions
The amount of tax an individual pays on their super contributions depends on whether the contributions were made before or after they paid income tax; they have exceeded the super contributions cap or they are a very high-income earner. Before-tax super contributions Concessional (before-tax) super contributions are taxed at 15 per cent. They include employer […]
Preparing for your business exit
By Westcourt Blogger Preparing a business for sale is a complex and often long-term process, which requires a lot of preparation and planning. Yet few business owners are prepared when it comes time to be sale-ready. Exit planning involves careful preparation and consideration of the financial and business implications. Here are three tips to help […]
Separation and super
Since superannuation forms one of a couple’s biggest assets, splitting superannuation after a separation can be a complex process. Superannuation is treated as property under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Once a relationship ends, superannuation can either by split by agreement or court order. Generally, parties will try to negotiate an agreement between themselves […]