June 2013

2013 Budget Overview
Treasurer Wayne Swan has handed down the 2013/14 Federal Budget and forecasts a budget deficit of $18 billion. This is in stark contrast to his $1.5 billion surplus that he predicted in the previous budget. Mr Swan blamed the high Australian dollar, lower commodity prices and the fact that the mining tax revenue will be less than 10% of the original forecast. READ MORE...

Personal Taxation
Click HERE to read more information on Personal Taxation including the Individual Tax Rates and changes to the Baby Bonus, Medicare Levy and Self Education Expenses.

• 2013 Individual Tax Return Checklist

Business Taxation
Read MORE about Business Taxation changes including the increase in ASIC fees and the
requirement for large entities to make monthly PAYG instalments in the PAYG instalment system.

• 2013 Companies, Partnerships, Trusts & Other Business Tax Checklist

Superannuation
The Budget contained little new superannuation news, instead re-stating measures already announced by the Government on 5 April 2013. Click HERE to read more.

Tax Compliance
In this section we cover Data Matching & Third Party Information, Dividend Washing and the setup of an ATO taskforce to target the use of Trust structures by wealthy individuals. Click HERE to read more.

Family Business Or Family Feud
Family conflict is nothing new to business. Legendary comedian W.C. Fields is credited with the line, “Never work with children or animals.” While a lot of people in television agree with him, in business there is an argument to say that you should never work with family! Click HERE to read some guidelines you may consider putting in place when employing family members.

Facebook For Business
A Facebook Page for your business can be a powerful tool to grow awareness and build a fan/customer base. Unfortunately, like most marketing, it’s not as easy as logging in one night, creating a page and instant success. Before you create a Facebook Page for your business, click HERE to read about the planning required.

$17 Billion 'Lost' - Is Some of it Yours?
The Government announced last year that that after 31st May 2013, ‘inactive’ bank accounts would be transferred to ASIC. The threshold for ‘inactive’ has been lowered from seven years to three years. Although this money will be recoverable, the process may take many weeks if not months. Click HERE to find out how you can search for lost bank accounts, shares, life insurance and superannuation.

ATO Data Matching Update
Data-matching or comparing the same piece of information from two different sources has expanded rapidly in recent years. Four years ago, the ATO matched 50 million transactions and this year it will match 500 million. Most business owners are aware of the Tax Office’s data-matching activities but technology is revolutionising the ATO’s compliance capabilities. Click HERE to find out more.

March 2013

Marketing To Today's 'Smart' Customer
The internet and the technology revolution have changed the profile of the modern day customer. They have the internet in their pockets on their smart phones and they don’t rely on television, radio and print media to get their information anymore.  READ MORE...

Do You Have An Inactive Bank Account?
From May 31, 2013 the Federal Government will be able to transfer the balance from bank accounts that have not been used for three years into their own coffers.  READ MORE...

Paying Your Tax By Credit Card
Business owners can now pay their tax by credit card and potentially gain reward points in the process. The ATO will accept tax payments of between $10 and $50,000.  READ MORE...

Building Industry Taxable Payments
As part of the 2011/12 Federal Budget, the Government announced the introduction of taxable payments reporting for businesses in the building and construction industry.  READ MORE...

When Is A Good Time To Start My Business?
You may have been dreaming of starting your own business for years but there are so many road blocks including financial concerns, family issues or possibly your own self belief. There are also external factors like the economy and the lack of credit available for business start ups in the wake of the global financial crisis. However, there are a number of reasons why it could be the right time to start your own business. READ MORE...

Inspector Gadget - The iPhone 5
Mobile gadgets continue to boom and currently just over half of Australia's population have a smart phone and that will increase as people upgrade their existing mobile phones. READ MORE...
Thrive Or Just Survive?
McCrindle Research has done a study that examined the Australian Bureau of Statistics data on business start ups and failures. The purpose of the study was to identify which types of businesses have the best survival rates, where they are located and what industries they are in. The results are certainly not what we expected. READ MORE...

Thinking Of Buying A Business Asset?
Clients often ask us about the best way to acquire different types of assets in their business. In this article we’re talking about plant & equipment and depreciating assets like machinery and computers. On 1 July, 2012 some new rules were introduced that offer small business owners  significant tax advantages. READ MORE...