Accounting Professionals Blog
2019/20 FEDERAL BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
The Treasurer, The Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP, handed down the Government’s 2019/20 Federal Budget at 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019. Wayne Hooton, Small Business Tax Specialist at Accounting Professionals, provides a summary of the key personal tax, business tax and...
Families should talk about money
Families can and should talk about money says AP Wealth's Tony Bates.There are so many fantastic resources to help families think about today, tomorrow and beyond. Tony commenced his career at Ord Minnett before the 1987 share market crash and has been navigating its...
Catching up on superannuation contributions
Individuals with a total superannuation balance (TSB) below $500,000 are now able to “carry forward” their unused concessional contributions (CC) cap space to future years in order to catch up on contributions later when they have the capacity to do so. Usually, an...
Greater flexibility for accessing company losses
The government plans to give companies greater access to prior year tax losses in a bid to stimulate business innovation. A new alternative to the “same business test” – the “similar business test” – will make it easier for companies that have experienced a...
Proposed Instant Asset Write-off changes a big win for small business
Wayne Hooton, Small Business Tax Specialist at Accounting Professionals, explains the proposed changes to the instant asset write-off scheme for small business. If legislated, an increase in the threshold amount will provide further tax breaks for small businesses...
FBT on work Christmas parties and gifts
With Christmas fast approaching, the ATO has reminded employers and business owners about the potential FBT implications of providing office Christmas parties and gifts to employees. Whether or not the party or the gift attracts FBT depends on a number of factors...
Managing your business cash flow over the holiday period
December is usually the busiest time of the year for retail and hospitality businesses. But businesses in other sectors often find that their sales slowdown and their customers stop paying them for a few months. So cash flow dries up. Whether your business is large or...
Are you being Data Smart with your Smart Phone?
Recently, the new shiny iPhone XS and XR entered the market. For all the Apple lovers out there, this might mean being the first to wrap your hands around the irresistibly smooth all-glass design, or finally upgrading your old glitchy iPhone to the new model. If this...
The October 31 deadline for lodging your tax return is here
Before you rush off to gather all the documents for your tax return, beware of some changes in this year’s return, particularly in the areas of rental properties and superannuation. In addition to the changes in the tax return, the ATO has also outlined the top 5 most...
Are you doing what is important, not what is urgent?
By Nick Fitzgerald, Business Advisory Director, Accounting Professionals “I’m so busy right now,” is hands down the most common response I hear when I ask business owners, “how are you?” or “how’s business?” And, sadly, the answer to my follow up question “how is cash...
Does your SMSF have a sole purpose?
The sole purpose test is one the fundamental requirements for a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) to obtain tax concessions. It requires that the SMSF be maintained for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits to its members or their dependents if a member dies...
Why paying tax is a good thing
By Nick Fitzgerald, Business Advisory Director, Accounting Professionals Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once infamously said, “Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” While the first is inevitable, I believe...
Reform of the ABN system
The ABN system was originally introduced as a simple way to provide businesses with unique identifier when dealing with the government. It has since become a de facto licence to do business despite no substantial changes in the application process in the intervening...
Meaning of independent: Financial advisers
The terms “independent”, “impartial”, or “unbiased” or similar terms can only be used to describe financial advisory businesses that meet certain conditions under the Corporations Act. Such conditions include not receiving commissions or volume-based payments. The...
Toyota to compensate unfairly dismissed foreperson
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA) to pay a foreperson with overarching supervisory responsibility for some 69 team members the maximum compensation under the Fair Work Act's unfair dismissal provisions after it failed...
R&D tax incentive overhaul
In simple terms, the Research and Development (R&D) tax incentive provides a tax offset to eligible companies that conduct certain R&D activities that are likely to benefit Australia’s wider economy. As a response to various reviews which indicated that the...
Areas of concern for SMSF trustees
If you are the trustee of one of the approximately 577,000 SMSFs in Australia at the moment, there are some areas the ATO wants you to pay particular attention to including the sole-purpose test, the in-house asset rules, unlawful schemes and arrangements, and...
Cash payments limit coming soon
The Government is planning to introduce an economy-wide cash payment limit of $10,000 as a part of its crackdown on the black economy. Any transaction that exceeds $10,000 will need to be made using an electronic system or by cheque. The cash transaction limit will...